Symphyotrichum is a genus of over 100 species and naturally occurring hybrids of herbaceous annual and perennial plants in the composite family Asteraceae, most which were formerly treated within the genus Aster. The majority are endemic to North America, but several also occur in the West Indies, Central and South America, as well as in eastern Eurasia. Several species have been introduced to Europe as garden specimens, most notably New England aster and New York aster.
Symphyotrichum sericeum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central North America. Commonly known as western silver aster, western silvery aster, and silky aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 70 centimeters tall. Its flowers have purple ray florets and pink then purple disk florets, and its leaves are firm and silvery-green.
Symphyotrichum eatonii is a species of aster known by the common name Eaton's aster. It is native to much of western North America from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, the Sierra Nevada in California, the Rocky Mountains region, to Arizona and New Mexico, where it grows in many habitats, especially wet areas such as meadows and near ditches.
Symphyotrichum frondosum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to western North America. Commonly known as short-rayed alkali aster, it is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant that may reach 140 centimeters tall.
Symphyotrichum lentum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae with the common name of Suisun Marsh aster. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant endemic to the marshes of Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta of Northern California.
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America. Common names include panicled aster, lance-leaved aster, and white panicled aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 1.5 meters tall or more, sometimes approaching 2 meters. The lance-shaped leaves are generally hairless but may feel slightly rough to the touch on the top because of tiny bristles. The flowers grow in clusters and branch in panicles. They have 16–50 white ray florets that are up to 14 millimeters long and sometimes tinged pink or purple. The flower centers consist of disk florets that begin as yellow and become purple as they mature.
Symphyotrichum prenanthoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name crookedstem aster. It is native to northcentral and northeastern North America.
Symphyotrichum drummondii is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae native to the central and eastern United States. Commonly known as Drummond's aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 120 centimeters in height.
Symphyotrichum ciliatus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America and eastern Eurasia. Commonly known as rayless annual aster and rayless alkali aster, it is an annual, herbaceous plant that may reach over 70 centimeters tall. Each flower head has many whitish then pink disk florets and no ray florets ("rayless").
Symphyotrichum simmondsii is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae endemic to the southeastern United States. Commonly known as Simmonds' aster, it is a colony-forming herbaceous perennial.
Symphyotrichum fontinale is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to Florida and a small area of southwest Georgia. Commonly known as Florida water aster and Florida water American-aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 30–90 centimeters high.
Symphyotrichum laurentianum is a critically imperiled species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to the southern shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. Commonly known as Gulf of St. Lawrence aster, it is an annual, herbaceous plant with one stem and no ray florets that grows up to about 13 centimetres tall.
Symphyotrichum hallii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to western Oregon and Washington states. Commonly known as Hall's aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a long rhizome that creates colonies of itself. It grows about 30–60 centimeters tall, and has white rays that open July–August.
Symphyotrichum foliaceum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to western North America. Commonly known as leafy aster, leafy-bracted aster, and alpine leafybract aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 10 to 60 centimeters in height. Its flowers have violet to purple ray florets and yellow disk florets. Four varieties were accepted as of July 2021 by Plants of the World Online (POWO), as follows: S. foliaceum var. apricum, S. foliaceum var. canbyi, S. foliaceum var. cusickii, and S. foliaceum var. parryi. The autonym is S. foliaceum var. foliaceum.
Symphyotrichum phlogifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the eastern United States. Commonly known as thin-leaf late purple aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 50 to 130 centimeters tall. Its flowers have light to dark reddish-purple ray florets and white disk florets with purple triangular lobes.
Symphyotrichum adnatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the southeastern United States and the Bahamas. Commonly known as scaleleaf aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 30 to 120 centimeters tall. Its flowers have lavender ray florets and yellow disk florets.
Symphyotrichum patagonicum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to Argentina. It is an annual, herbaceous plant that grows 3 to 30 centimetres tall. Its flowers have short white ray florets in 3 or 4 series and numerous disk florets.
Symphyotrichum moranense is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that reaches heights of about 90 centimetres. Its white ray florets open October–April.
Symphyotrichum trilineatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native from Mexico to Guatemala.
Symphyotrichum purpurascens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico and Guatemala.
