Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SILKY ASTER

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Symphyotrichum sericeum (Vent. ) G.L. Nesom

[=Aster sericeus Vent.]

McPheson County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-2 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: August, September,October

Also Called:

Western silvery aster.

Stems:

More or less erect, clustered, wiry, brittle, much-branched, reddish-brown, glabrous below and thinly silky-hairy above.

Leaves:

Lower leaves stalked, oblanceolate, shed early; upper leaves persistent, alternate, simple, sessile, elliptic to oblong, .5 to 1.5 inch long, less than .5 inch wide, silvery-white silky pubescent; margins entire.

Inflorescences:

Branching clusters of numerous heads; heads 1.5 inches wide; bracts equal or nearly overlapping, tips loose or spreading.

Flowers:

Ray florets 14-20, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, purple-violet or sometimes pinkish; disk florets yellowish brown to rose.

Fruits:

Achenes, small, smooth, tipped with white bristles, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry, open, upland sites or occasionally open woods, most abundant in limestone soils.

Distribution:

East half of Kansas.

Comments:

The plant derives its common name from the silky hairs covering the leaves.

It is often found with aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium).

Silky aster