Oclemena acuminata (Michx.) Greene

Whorled wood aster, mountain aster, sharp-leaved aster

About plant names...

Whorled aster is a North American native plant.

Plants: Plants are 12-31" (30-80 cm) high, found in wooded areas.

Leaves: Oval, coarsely toothed, pointed leaves form a whorl around the stem. Okay, they seem to be whorled: in fact, they are alternate and only look whorled when viewed from above. The arrangement of leaves, resembling a pinwheel, collects limited forest floor light more efficiently.

Flowers: Flowers form a roughly spherical cluster at the top, of flowers that are ⅞-1½" (2.5-4 cm) in diameter. Each "flower" is a composite flower, composed of disheveled-looking white ray flowers surrounding a central disc that is yellow or purplish in color. Ray flowers are bent backward, not straight as in most other aster family flowers, and composed of about 15 (9-18) rays. They appear Jul-Oct.

Fruits: Achenes are ⅛" (3 mm) × ¹/₃₂" (0.5 mm), and have many glands.

Online References:

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Discover Life

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Ontario Wildflowers

The Evergreen Native Plant Database

CalPhotos

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

EFloras

9/15/2010 · Red Dot Trail, Long Lake Park, Littleton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

10/19/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 6 × 4½" (15 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

10/7/2012 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hamp­shire
≈ 5 × 3½" (12 × 8.8 cm)

8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

8/16/2012 · Mt. Tom State Reservation, Beau Bridge Trail, Holyoke, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 8" (18 × 21 cm) ID is uncertain

9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

9/24/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 6" (16 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

Oclemena acuminata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 7 Sep 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/9/2010 · Pine Meadow Conservation Trust Land, Groton Harvard Road, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

10/19/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 8 × 7" (19 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 2½ × 3½" (6.2 × 9.3 cm) ID is uncertain

9/20/2013 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

9/4/2023 · Thorne Head Preserve, Bath, Maine
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.6 × 8.7 cm)

9/20/2013 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

9/18/2016 · Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine

7/30/2010 · Willard Brook State Forest, Blue Trail, Ashby & Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hamp­shire
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 11 cm)

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4 × 3½" (11 × 9.2 cm)

Range:

About this map...