Fringed Blue Aster Symphyotrichum ciliolatum (formerly Aster ciliolatus)
Other common names:
Ciliolate Aster, Lindley's Aster Other scientific names: Aster ciliolatus, Aster lindleyanus, Aster maccallae, Aster saundersii, Aster subgeminatus, Aster wilsoni, Aster wilsonii, Symphyotrichum subgeminatum French names:
Aster ciliolée Family: Composite Family (Asteraceae) Group: Asters Distinctive features:
Lower leaves look like a cross between those of Heart-leaved Aster and Arrow-leaved Aster. Flowers have long pale blue rays, and are sparsely arranged. Stem smooth. Fields. Similar species: • Heart-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) • Purple-stemmed Aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum) • Large-leaved Aster (Eurybia macrophylla) • Azure Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) • Arrow-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum urophyllum) Flowers: Summer, Autumn; Blue/Violet; 7 or more parts (petals); 2.5-3cm in diameter. Ray flowers: 16, long, pale to deep blue. Disc flowers: 20-35, yellow becoming purple. Flowers sparse in arrangement. Leaves: Alternate, Simple; Sort of heart-shaped lower on the stem. Easily confused with Arrow-leaved Aster and Heart-leaved Aster. Lance-shaped and smaller higher up on stem. Height:
Up to 1 m (1-3 ft) Stem:
Smooth. Habitat: Forests, Fields and Open Areas; Open woods and meadows in poor soils. The photos on this page were taken along an old railway embank. Grows in Sun/Shade:
Sun, Shade Lifespan:
Perennial. Native/Non-native:
Native Status:
Somewhat common.
Notes:
This is a hard Aster to identify for the novice. It resembles several other Aster species. A novice might be better off leaving this species till they have more experience.
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Some flowers in the morning after a rain. Pretty blue!
Overall plant, mid-September in the James Bay region of Quebec.
Here's a small Fringed Blue Aster, showing its lower leaves. The flowers (rays, or "petals") are pale blue and fairly long.
View of a whole plant.
Another view of the overall shape and form of the plant. Note the sparse, open aspect of the flowers. There's lots of space between individual flowers. The stem is mostly smooth, with perhaps a few hairs in the very upper portion.
Upper stem leaves. Note that they do not clasp the stem.
Stem.
Close-up of a flower. The discs are yellow at first.
The discs later turn purple.
A group of flowers at the top of a Fringed Blue Aster. This species of Aster likes to grow in open woods and meadows. Some of the specimens featured on this page were found at the edge of a forest along an abandoned railway line near Drumbo, Ontario, at the end of September.
Another view of a small plant.
Closeup of a single flower (actually a flower head, composed of disc and ray flowers).
Side view of a flower. This plant was on the Bruce Peninsula in early September.
