Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) G.L. Nesom Bushy American-aster, long-stalked aster, rice button aster
Bushy asters are North American natives. Identification: Plants are 1-4′ (30-121 cm) high, branching rather sparsely into long branches. Stems vary from hairless at the base to more hairy toward stem tips. Leaves are deep green, alternate, untoothed, and very thin, lanceolate to linear, or narrowly oval to elliptic, 1¼-4″ (3.2-10 cm) long. Blooms appear from August to October. There are many flowers, but each tips a separate branch with its own leaflets and they are spread along branches, not clustered at major branch ends. The flowers therefore look evenly distributed, not densely clustered as in most asters. Individual flowers are white or pale blue/purple, ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) in diameter, with 13-30 rays. Central disks are yellow, reddening with age. See our aster comparison table here. Or check Arieh Tel's well-researched and informative aster comparison site. Online References:
Hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 22
Symphyotrichum dumosum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020. |
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