Dieteria asteroides

Hoary aster

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Hoary aster is a California native perennial herb found in rocky mountain habitats across the state's mountainous regions. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces blue to purple ray flowers in radiate heads that are 1 to 2 centimeters long, creating delicate lavender-blue displays. Growing to heights of up to 1 meter with stems that are generally canescent-puberulent and often sparsely glandular, it develops an upright and distinctive form. Its leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, measuring 3 to 10 centimeters long, with margins that range from nearly entire to irregularly dentate or serrate, and the uppermost leaves clasping the stem. The plant's phyllaries are arranged in 5 to 12 series, with acute to long-acuminate tips that are typically hairy and sometimes glandular throughout.

California counties: Imperial, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.