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 ascendens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names western aster, long-leaved aster, and Rocky Mountain aster. Blooming July–September, it is native to western North America and can be found at elevations of 500–3,200 m (1,600–10,500 ft) in several habitats.
Symphyotrichum defoliatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name San Bernardino aster. It is endemic to Southern California where it grows in grasslands and meadows, and it is of conservation concern.
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 pilosum is a perennial, herbaceous, flowering plant in the Asteraceae family native to central and eastern North America. It is commonly called hairy white oldfield aster, frost aster, white heath aster, heath aster, hairy aster, common old field aster, old field aster, or steelweed. It may reach 20 to 120 centimeters tall, and its flowers have white ray florets and yellow disk florets.
Symphyotrichum depauperatum, commonly known as serpentine aster or starved aster, is a rare species in the family Asteraceae adapted to serpentine barrens, an ecosystem with a high concentration of toxic metals in the soil. It has been found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and on some diabase glades in North Carolina. It grows to 50 centimeters and has white ray florets surrounding a center of yellow disk florets.
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, commonly known as aromatic aster or oblong-leaved aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is an uncommon herbaceous perennial that reaches heights of 10–80 centimeters and blooms August–November with many flower heads in various shades of purple.
Symphyotrichum falcatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Commonly called white prairie aster and western heath aster, it is native to a widespread area of central and western North America.
Symphyotrichum dumosum is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae commonly known as rice button aster and bushy aster. It is native to much of eastern and central North America, as well as Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach a height of 1 meter.
Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, commonly known as skyblue aster and azure aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America.
Packera serpenticola, commonly known as serpentine ragwort, is a species of flowering plant in the composite family.
Symphyotrichum shortii, commonly called Short's aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is primarily found in interior areas east of the Mississippi River. Its natural habitat is in thin rocky soils of woodlands and thickets often around limestone bluffs. It is common throughout much of its range, although it is generally restricted to intact natural communities.
Symphyotrichum grandiflorum, the largeflower aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States where it is restricted to the Atlantic coastal plain of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and the Piedmont of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is known from habitats such as sandy areas, roadsides, thickets, and forest edges. It can be distinguished from other Symphyotrichum species by its taller and hairier stems, clasping lower leaves, and large, showy flower heads. It is possibly threatened by habitat destruction within its restricted range but is still considered locally abundant in many areas such as the southern Appalachian Mountains.
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 welshii is an imperiled species of flowering plant of the aster family (Asteraceae) endemic to only certain western states in the United States, specifically Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, and is found at elevations of 1,300–2,300 meters. It is perennial and herbaceous and may reach a height of 1 meter. Its bloom time is August–October, and it grows in wet soils that occur in dry areas.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is commonly known as perennial saltmarsh aster. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant native to the eastern United States and the West Indies. There is one variety, S. tenuifolium var. aphyllum in addition to the autonym S. tenuifolium var. tenuifolium.
Symphyotrichum porteri is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Commonly known as Porter's aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 10 to 50 centimeters tall. Its flowers have white, rarely pinkish, ray florets and yellow, becoming pink then brown, disk florets. S. porteri grows at elevations of 1,800–2,900 meters. Its limited range makes it a NatureServe Vulnerable (G3) species, and it is classified Critically Imperiled (S1) in Wyoming.
Symphyotrichum retroflexum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the southeastern United States. Commonly known as rigid whitetop aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 40 to 100 centimeters tall. Its flowers have blue to purple ray florets and cream to pale yellow then pinkish disk florets. It is known only from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, where it grows in wooded areas at elevations of 400–1,500 meters. As of September 2021, NatureServe classified it as Apparently Secure (G4); it had been reviewed last in 1994 and is marked as "needs review". There is an introduced presence of S. retroflexum in southeast China.
Symphyotrichum eulae is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to Texas. Commonly known as Eula's aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 5 to 150 centimeters in height. Its flowers have usually white to bluish or lavender-white ray florets and yellow then reddish to brown disk florets. It was named for Eula Whitehouse, American botanist, botanical illustrator, and plant collector.
