Symphyotrichum ascendens

Western aster

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western aster is a California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, southern Sierra Nevada, southern Coast Ranges, and Great Basin in meadows and disturbed places at elevations of 500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces violet ray flowers 8 to 15 millimeters long in open, clustered flower heads. Growing with erect stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall that are strigose (especially toward the top), it emerges from a long rhizome. Its leaves range from 5 to 15 centimeters long, becoming smaller toward the stem's top, with oblong to oblanceolate shapes that are acute and mostly glabrous. The fruit is characteristically hairy, adding textural interest to this widespread California native plant.

Habitat: Meadows, disturbed places

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 500-2500 m

Bioregions: SNH (e slope), Teh, SnGb, SnBr, GB

California counties: Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Mono, Tulare, Alpine, Plumas, Lassen, Placer, Siskiyou, Sierra, Inyo, El Dorado, Fresno, Nevada, Riverside, Tuolumne, Tehama, Mariposa, Shasta, Butte, San Diego, Trinity, Amador, Modoc, Calaveras, Yuba, Ventura, Sonoma

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