Heart-Leaved Aster,
Symphyotrichum cordifolium
(formerly Aster
cordifolius
what happened?)
Asteraceae or Sunflower Family
Herb with large clusters of small flowers. Each
"flower" is really a head 1/2 to 5/8 inch wide containing a center
of tiny yellow disc flowers surrounded by about a half dozen
pale blue-violet ray flowers. Leaves are heart-shaped and
coarsely toothed, with a slender stalk. Blooms in late fall.
Native. Very common along trails and paths in the Park.
There are many asters in the Park, and they are hard to tell
apart. Schreber's aster (Eurybia schreberi) isprobably most similar to heart-leaved, but the flowers are white. Lowry's aster (S. lowrieanum) has
similar flowers and heart-shaped toothed leaves, but the
leafstalks have wings.
Wavy-leaved aster (S. undulatum) has similar
flowers and heart-shaped leaves, but it too has a
winged leafstalk and the leaves have no or few teeth..
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