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Symphyotrichum laeve (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve

Smooth blue aster, smooth blue American-aster

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassAsteridaeA large class that encompasses asters
OrderAsteralesFlowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
FamilyAsteraceaeThe aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
GenusSymphyotrichumFrom Greek symphysis, “borne together or growing together, coalescing,” and trichinos, “hair, a single hair”
SpecieslaeveLatin laevis, “smooth”

About plant names...

Smooth blue asters are North American natives.

Identification: Plants are 1½-3′ (50-100 cm) in height. Stems are waxy and smooth, green with a whitish covering, sometimes purple. Leaves are smooth, bluish in color, thick and firm, usually toothless, usually hairless, and clasping. Flowers are bluish to purple (rarely white), ¾-1¼″ (1.9-3.2 cm) across, appearing from August to October. Central disc flowers are yellow, aging to purple. There are 13-23 (rarely up to 11-34) rays on each flower. The appear in loose panicles.

Online References:

Ontario Wildflowers

Gobotany.newenglandwild.org

Minnesota Wildflowers

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Missouri Botanical Garden

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 20

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 460

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: Wildflowers—Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 356

 

Symphyotrichum laeve description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

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Symphyotrichum laeve (smooth blue aster, smooth blue American-aster)

9/19/2013 · Harvard, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Symphyotrichum laeve (smooth blue aster, smooth blue American-aster)

9/19/2013 · Harvard, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Range: Zones 3-8:

About this map...