Asteraceae, the daisy, sunflower or composite family.
Description:
Plant:
Erect, branching, smooth to sparsely hairy stems, 1'-4', often reddish of purplish,
with loose terminal clusters of light blue to violet or white, daisy-like flower heads. Perennial
Flowers:
Light blue to violet, to nearly white, daisy-like flower heads, 1"-1.25",
with 20-50 ray flowers, and bright yellow centers, changing to brown.
Bracts hairless or nearly so.
Leaves:
Alternate, narrowly ovate to lanceolate-linear, 2"-6", sparsely toothed or toothless
mostly smooth, and clasping the stem.
Fruit:
Dry seed-like achene with silky hairs.
Blooming:
August-October
Habitat:
Fields, meadows, damp thickets.
Comments:
One of several larger blue-violet to whitish asters in our area.
Symphyotrichum puniceum is current guess for pictures here.
This species is one of the most variable and widespread in a group
that tends to be highly variable,
to interbreed, and are often difficult to distinguish.
Additional images can be found in [[Purplestem Aster White Form]].
A large group of north-American asters formerly placed in the genus
Aster have been placed in new genera, many of them in
Symphyotrichum.
Where to find it:
Occasional near the north-west shore of the pond, and possibly in other
open locations, often mixed with [[New England Aster]], which is a deeper
purple in this area.