24. Ionactis Greene

About 5 species, U.S., Canada.

Ionactis, with its short, more or less woody rootstocks, narrow, relatively uniform stem leaves, and relatively few heads, is another small, morphologically cohesive taxon that was recognized by most botanists as a section of the genus Aster until recent years. Nesom and Leary (1992) discussed the generic delimitation of Ionactis, and its distinctness was discussed by Nesom (1994, 2000). Molecular studies (Noyes and Rieseberg, 1999; Semple et al., 2002) also have reaffirmed the distinctness of the group.