Small white aster along the Community Forest’s Universal Trail
Photo: Patty McKeon
When Summer’s Blooms Fade, it’s Time for Asters
By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist
Nature is whispering to us trail-walkers that autumn’s colorful season is upon us. The yellows of the goldenrods are fading, bird songs are quieting, many biting insect pests are gone, and the forests’ leaves are releasing their chlorophyl to offer us their hidden colors. Many plants’ flowers have been pollinated and are now nurturing and releasing seed. But we remain somewhat enchanted by many of the late bloomers as they stand proud in the meadows, forest edges, and roadsides. Some of these flowers adding color to our autumn walks are the asters.
In Greek mythology, the goddess Astraea was the last immortal to live among humans during a time of Eden-like peace, serenity and innocence — The Golden Age — when humans lived like gods, free from toils, struggles, and sorrows. Towards the end of this time, greed, violence, and wickedness spread among humans. Astraea grew unbearably saddened and disgusted by this morality degradation and became unable to live in such chaos. So, she returned to the heavens — her ascension forming the largest zodiac constellation Virgo, with her likeness as its symbol. This loss of innocence along with humanity’s moral decline caused her to weep. As her tears alit upon Earth, colorful flowers marked their landings — the asters.
Astraea’s asters are taxonomically defined as being in the family Asteraceae, also called the daisy family. But DNA studies during the past couple of decades have determined that most of what were originally identified as asters aren’t, so these “asters” have been given the title American asters — the name denoting them as not true asters — and placed them in the Symphyotrichum genus. Although it’s a bit contentious among some botanists, science now generally classifies only one true aster as being native to North America — Aster alpinus, the alpine aster, or blue alpine daisy — and one horticultural escapee, Aster tataricus, or the tatarian aster, as being a naturalized aster. Neither of these are listed as being in Maine, but the tatarian aster lives in New Hampshire, so it’s probably around here somewhere. So, there are not any true asters in Maine, but we’ll do the accepted thing and talk about our American asters as asters.
Having evolved to form late-blooming flowers, asters seem to have embraced a successful survival strategy, as there are few other pollen and nectar sources for the remaining bees, butterflies, and other pollinators — especially those that migrate, like our beloved monarch butterflies. Being among the few such sources, asters easily attract these pollinators, ensuring high rates of fertilization and seed production. Each seed is attached to a puffy, string-like parachute called pappus. When sufficiently dry, this 1/3-inch kited seed will catch a ride via the wind or could cling to the fur or feather of a passerby to land and sprout upon distant fertile grounds. Some asters can also reproduce by sprouting from underground stems called rhizomes, thus forming colonies in some places.
There are several species we’ll notice along our walks, their central disc flowers and outer ray flowers varying in color; the disc and ray assembly (what we generally see as a flower) is called a capitulum. The tall asters with yellow discs and white to purple rays are the New York asters. If the capitula form umbels (clusters) and have white rays with yellow discs, it’s a tall white/flat-topped aster. New England asters have yellow discs with pink, blue, or purple rays. White wood asters have white rays and yellow or red discs. Large-leaved wood asters have very light blue rays and yellow discs. Blue wood asters hold lavender rays with purple discs. Smooth blue asters have yellow discs and blue rays. Finally, flax-leaved stiff asters have lavender rays and yellow discs.
Several Asters (type in “Symphyotrichum” in the search bar) are described by the Maine Natural Areas Program as being Endangered or Potentially Extirpated: They include the Anticosti, bushy, late purple, and salt-marsh asters. Identifications of our many asters and other plants can be challenging, but a convenient, user-friendly, and free phone app is available for plant identification called iNatrualist. Opting to download your observations assists scientists and researchers with their studies and recommendations to policymakers, and it’s a wonderful tool to increase our enjoyment of nature’s glory, within which we all dwell.
Rare asters: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/rare_plants/plantlist.htm
iNaturalist app: https://www.inaturalist.org/
Editor’s note: Did you see something unusual last time you were out in the woods? Were you puzzled or surprised by something you saw? Ask our “Out in the Woods” columnist Kevin McKeon. He’ll be happy to investigate and try to answer your questions. Email him directly at: kpm@metrocast.net
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