Symphyotrichum campestre

Western meadow aster

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western meadow aster is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin in dry meadows at elevations of 1,800 to 3,050 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces violet ray flowers 6 to 10 millimeters long in clusters with multiple flower heads. Growing with slender stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall that are glandular and somewhat strigose, it spreads through a long rhizome. Its cauline leaves are narrow and linear, 2 to 6 centimeters long, ranging from glabrous to slightly short-hairy with acute to obtuse tips. The fruit is covered in fine hairs.

Habitat: dry meadows

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1800-3050 m

Bioregions: SNH, GB

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