Tag: Aster (Blue Wood)

  • Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)

    Symphyotrichum cordifolium
    Photographed September 26.

    Known as Aster cordifolius in most botanical literature, but the North American Asters have been separated into the genus Symphyotrichum by botanists who enjoy the challenge of a pentasyllabic Greek term. Identifying Asters is hard, because there are many species and they hybridize. This, however, is a very common one. Its generous clusters of small closely spaced blue flower heads decorate our roadsides and brighten woodland trails. The lower leaves are lanceolate with heart-shaped bases, giving the species its name and one of its other common names, “Heartleaf Aster.”

    These plants were photographed in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon, and in the Kane Woods Nature Area, Scott Township.

    Blue Wood Aster
    Heartleaf Aster
    Photographed September 25.
    Aster cordifolius
    Symphyotrichum cordifolium
    Blue Wood Aster
    Aster cordifolius