Doellingeria ledophylla var. covillei

Cascade aster

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cascade aster is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges and northern Coast Ranges in meadows and open woodlands at elevations of 1,300 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces violet to purple ray flowers in radiate heads with 5 to 13 rays, creating delicate clusters of blooms. Growing with stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall that are slightly hairy and glandular, it forms an open, graceful structure. Its leaves are elliptic to oblong, 2 to 6 centimeters long, with pale green undersides that are softly woolly and smooth upper surfaces. The flower heads feature unequal phyllaries with pale bases and green midveins tipped in purple, adding subtle complexity to its delicate appearance.

Habitat: Meadows, open woodland

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 1300-2500 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR

California counties: Siskiyou, Humboldt, Glenn, Trinity, Del Norte

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