NEW ENGLAND ASTER
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
SUNFLOWER FAMILY (Asteraceae)
Identification
- Flowering time - September and October
- Uncommon in prairie restorations at FF and NW
- Tall plant with showy rose-purple flowers
- Many leaves with lobes that clasp the stem
- More ray florets (40+) than our other asters
This showy, erect, native perennial has hairy stems and leaves, and grows 2-5 feet tall. Abundant, alternate leaves up to 4 inches long and 1 inch wide have ear-like lobes which clasp the stem (C,D). Individually stalked flowers occur in one or several rounded, branching clusters at the top of the plant (B). The flower heads are up to 1 1/2 inches across consisting of 40-100 petal-like ray florets surrounding the central yellow to orange disk florets (A,C). Rays are most often rose-purple, but may be pink to rose to lavender. At the base of each flower head are numerous spreading, narrow green bracts (phyllaries), many with tiny round glands at their tips (E,F,G). Late in the season tiny white plumes attached to each seed transform the seed head into a fuzzy ball (H).
This plant is relatively easy to separate from most other bluish asters by its numerous clasping leaves and dense clusters of showy, rose-purple flowers which have more ray florets (40-100) than our other species.
Grows in wet to moist prairies, thickets and open areas, flowering in September and October. It is uncommon in prairie restorations at Neale Woods. At the Fontenelle Forest visitors center, they have been planted by the pond at the entrance way. It has not recently been documented in prairie restorations at FF but is likely there or in open areas on the floodplain.
The abundant, showy, late-blooming flowers and their ease of propagation, either from seed or root division, make this a favored garden plant.
An alternate common name, Michaelmas Daisy, originates from its flowering period which coincides with the September 29 date of the Feast of St. Michael.
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