Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (10/20/20):
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants.
Frost Aster is one of the "small white aster" group, but stands out with its densely (sometimes moderately) spreading-hairy stems and leaf undersides. The bracts on inflorescence branches are much longer and more tapered than those of S. dumosum. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-032:
Aster pilosus
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Aster pilosus var. pilosus
COMMON NAME:
Frost Aster, White Heath Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm160103_091
January Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
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JK Marlow jkm160103_093
January Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm110308_794
March Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm110308_799
March Greenville County SC
Basal lvs oblanceolate, petioled, 1-4" lng. Basal & lower lvs wither early, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
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JK Marlow jkm190708_9816
July Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm120920_051
September Washington County VA
Virginia Creeper Trail
Stem stout at base, long hairs often in lines on the upper stem, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
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JK Marlow jkm120920_053
September Washington County VA
Virginia Creeper Trail
Heads 1/2-3/4" wide with 20-30 rays and yellow or red disks, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow jkm120930_169
September Greenville County SC
Inflorescence a diffuse panicle w many small sharp-pointed bract-like leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow jkm120930_174
September Greenville County SC
Involucral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, the apex acicular [needle-like], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
COMPARE
involucral bracts of North American asters
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Gill Newberry gn10_a_pilosus_head
October
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JK Marlow jkm111008_873
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Leaves of lower stem sessile or tapered to a short petiole, hairy. — Ron Lance
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JK Marlow jkm181005_5237
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm181005_5240
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201022_7887
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201022_7888
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201022_7889
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm151227_877
December Pickens County SC
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JK Marlow jkm151227_884887
December Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm151227_893
December Pickens County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (10/20/20):
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-032:
Aster pilosus
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Aster pilosus var. pilosus
164
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
Habitat: Old fields, disturbed areas, woodland borders, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: White
Disc: Yellow becoming reddish-purple
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads with 20-30 ray flowers
Inferior ovary
Flower heads in bushy many-headed panicles
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Tan
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p018
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p130
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p458
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p181
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p113
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p265?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p327
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p212