Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
Aromatic Aster is unusual in that its stem and branch leaves are about the same size and shape; also, leaves are very numerous, giving the plant a very busy look. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-016:
Aster oblongifolius FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster oblongifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH -
Virgulus oblongifolius
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Aromatic Aster, Shale-barren Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asob2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120922_117
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Rays 14-30, blue to violet, 1.5-2cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120922_119b
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Stems hairy or sticky; leaves rough, stiff, oblong, slightly clasping, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120922_121
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
)
JK Marlow jkm120922_121b
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-016:
Aster oblongifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster oblongifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
-
Virgulus oblongifolius
161
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: rock outcrops and dry woodlands over limestone, calcareous shale, calcareous prairies, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate (basal sometimes persistent)
FLOWER:
WinterSummer/Fall
Rays: Blue/ Violet
Disc: Yellow becoming brown or reddish-purple
Flower heads with 14-30 ray flowers
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in corymb-like or loose panicle-like arrays, branches initially spreading then ascending
FRUIT:
WinterSummer/Fall
Brown
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p167
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p109
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p326
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p210
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".