Aster tripolium
Encyclopedia
Aster tripolium is a plant of northern Europe
that is confined in its distribution to salt marsh
es, estuaries and occasionally to inland salt
works.
It is a perennial growing up to 50 cm tall with fleshy lanceolate leaves and purple ray florets flowering from July to September. The plants tend to be short-lived and populations need significant new recruitment each year from new seedlings.
There are rayed as well as rayless varieties and only the former have long blue or white florets. The rayless form is yellow. The plant flowers well into autumn and hence provides a valuable source of nectar for late-flying butterflies such as painted lady
and red admiral
.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that is confined in its distribution to salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es, estuaries and occasionally to inland salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
works.
It is a perennial growing up to 50 cm tall with fleshy lanceolate leaves and purple ray florets flowering from July to September. The plants tend to be short-lived and populations need significant new recruitment each year from new seedlings.
There are rayed as well as rayless varieties and only the former have long blue or white florets. The rayless form is yellow. The plant flowers well into autumn and hence provides a valuable source of nectar for late-flying butterflies such as painted lady
Painted Lady
The Cynthia group of colourful butterflies, commonly called painted ladies, comprises a subgenus of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae...
and red admiral
Red admiral
Red admiral may refer to:Butterflies*Vanessa atalanta, a species of butterfly found in temperate Europe, Asia and North America*Vanessa gonerilla, a species of butterfly, also known as the New Zealand red admiral, found in New Zealand*Vanessa indica, a species of butterfly, also known as the Indian...
.