white heath aster
Family
AsteraceaeScientific Name
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pilosum
Other Common Names:
frostweed aster
hairy white oldfield aster
pringle's aster
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Aster villosus
Aster juniperinus
Aster ramosissimus
Aster pilosus
Aster ericoides
Habit
Stem hairs are 2-3 mm long; plant reaches up to 3 ' tall.
Leaves
Leaves are linear, taper toward the tip, and have limited or no teeth. They are generally .4 to .8 inches long, stiff, entire to slightly-toothed, and have a stiff bristle or flexible point at the tip.
Identifying Characteristics
Very fuzzy stem, as if coated with a thick frost.
Flower Seed Head
Each compound flower is about 5 to 8 mm across and has 16-35 white ray florets with a yellow center.
Seed Fruit
The seeds have small tufts of white or brownish hairs, which are distributed by the wind.
Where Found
Dry soils of fallow fields, meadows, prairies, glades, rocky open ground, gravel bars, roadsides, railroads, waste ground, disturbed sites.
Growth Habit
upright and nonwoody
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
white,
pink
Flower Symmetry
radial symmetery
Leaf Hairs
no hairs
Leaf Shape
Varies:
lance,
oval
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Margin
Varies:
entire,
serrated
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
none
Stem Hairs
has hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
Varies:
fibrous,
rhizomes present
Life Cycle
perennial
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Herb