Plant Name Heath Aster  
Scientific Name Symphyotrichum Ericoides  
Family Aster  
Plant Type Perennial  
Start of Blooming Season August  
End of Blooming Season November

 

Heath Aster is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, native to much of North America, as well as northern Mexico. It has also been introduced to many areas beyond its native range. Heath aster grows from Canada across much of the United States into the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo León.

Heath Aster have been sold in the horticultural trade as an ornamental plant.

Within the realm of rational and holistic medicine, there are no documented uses of heath aster.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that plants should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

There is currently no documented information about the edibility of heath aster.

Heath Aster prefers open locations with sandy, gravelly, or disturbed soil. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Soil Conditions
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Notes:

Heath Aster is a herbaceous perennial with stems from 30cm to 90cm tall. Its leaves are subulate and narrow, and become smaller towards the end of the stems and branches. It has white or rarely pinkish, daisy-like composite flower heads with yellow centers that appear in late summer through autumn). The flowers are 8mm to 10mm across. Heath Aster spreads by underground rhizomes to form colonies.

   

Plant Height 30cm to 90cm
Habitat Fields, Roadsides, Waste places
Leaves Subulate
Leaf Margin Entire
Leaf Venation Pinnate
Stems Smooth Stems
Flowering Season August to November
Flower Type Medium sized clusters of ray flowers
Flower Colour White
Pollination Bees, Self Fertile
Flower Gender Flowers are hermaphrodite and the plants are self-fertile
Fruit Underground Rhizomes
USDA Zone 3A (-37.3°C to -39.9°C) cold weather limit

No known health risks have been associated with heath aster. However ingestion of naturally occurring plants without proper identification is not recommended.

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see an artist rendering, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of heath aster. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

Heath Aster can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic هيث، أستير Bulgarian   Chinese (Sim) 希斯翠菊
Croatian   Czech   Danish  
Dutch   Esperanto   Estonian  
Finnish   French   German  
Greek   Hebrew האסטר אסטר Hungarian  
Italian   Japanese ヒースアスター Korean 히스 애 스터
Low Saxon   Lithuanian   Norwegian  
Persian سرماخوردگی Polish   Portuguese  
Romanian   Russian пустоши Slovak hviezda
Spanish   Swedish   Tagalog  
Turkish   Ukrainian шум астра Vietnamese  

The information provided in this conservation assessment has been provided by the Natureserve Database in conjunction with various federal, provincial, state, county, district, regional, and municipal governments as well as public and private conservation authorities. Information in this section is accurate from the last time this article was updated.
Heath Aster is considered to be a secure native species in North America.


The MIROFOSS database offers free printable garden tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify plant samples in a garden. Click on the tags shown on the the screen or -click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a heath aster identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Description Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Description Peterson, Roger Tory; Margaret McKenny (1969). Peterson Field Guides Wildflowers Northeastern and North-central North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 96–Heath Aster 358–Willow 358–Prairie. ISBN 0-395-91172-9.
Biology Brouillet, Luc; Semple, John C.; Allen, Geraldine A.; Chambers, Kenton L.; Sundberg, Scott D. "Symphyotrichum ericoides". Flora of North America (FNA). Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 – via eFloras.org. 2006, p. 424
Biology Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum,
Image Rendering USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environment National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
November 26, 2018 The last time this page was updated
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