Silky Aster (Aster sericeus)

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Silky Aster Aster sericeus Vent. (COMPOSITE FAMILY)

Silky aster is a slender, erect perennial with smooth, wiry stems, brownish-red in color. The alternate, lanceolate to oblong leaves are silvery-silky. By flowering, the leaves of the primary stem have fallen, and small reduced leaves remain on the flowering branches that grade into squarrose phyllaries. The heads are several in a widely branched, flattopped inflorescence. The deep violet to rose-purple ray florets (15 to 25) form a head 3/4-1 in. across with a yellow disk. The fruit is an achene with a brownish pappus. The early leaves of this plant are soft and silky and provide as much beauty as the inflorescence.