Question: Dear Ace Botanist, Thanks for all your help with my previous inquiries. I'm guessing this is an aster, a Symphyotrichum, …
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Question
Dear Ace Botanist, Thanks for all your help with my previous inquiries. I'm guessing this is an aster, a Symphyotrichum, but I'm not sure who. it shows up on the edges of the wooded trails in Neutaconkanut Hill Conservancy in Providence, RI. I didn't realize asters bloom this early. Maybe it's something else? Thanks again.
Answer
Dear sldz22, good afternoon. The plant you have photographed is Sericocarpus asteroides (toothed white-topped-aster). This is a native species of well-drained soils, such as woodlands, clearings, and grasslands. It was formerly included in the genus Aster, bu phylogenetic study shows that it is not part of that genus. Best wishes.
