Symphyotrichum puniceum (Purple-stemmed aster)

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Symphyotrichum puniceum (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve

Purple-stemmed aster, red-stem aster, swamp aster

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Symphyotrichum	From Greek symphysis, “borne together or growing together, coalescing,” and trichinos, “hair, a single hair”
Species	puniceum	“Reddish purple”

About plant names...

Purple-stemmed aster is native to North America, found in marshy habitats.

Identification: Although these asters are named for their purple stems, they aren't always purple, especially on younger plants. Stems are hairy and rough to the touch. Plants are 3-8' (1-2.5 m) tall, rarely up to 9½' (3 m), with stout stems up to ⅜" (1.1 cm) around. Leaves are oblanceolate, with small teeth that are usually widely spaced and may not be present, and bases that clasp the stems. They are up to 6" (15 cm) long and 2½" (7.0 cm) wide, with an easily visible central vein. Flowerheads are openly branched panicles. Individual flowers are ⅞-1½" (2.5-3.8 cm) across, and pale to dark blue-purple, sometimes almost white, with 20-50 rays. Central discs are yellow or cream-colored, with 30-50 tiny florets (as many as 90), aging to pink or purple. They appear August through November.

See our aster comparison table here. Or check Arieh Tel's well-researched and informative aster comparison site.

Online References:

The Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Minnesota Wildflowers

Wikipedia

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Missouri Botanical Garden

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 20

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 456

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: Wildflowers—Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 356

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 4½" (16 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 6" (21 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

Symphyotrichum puniceum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Oct 2021.

8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 6" (19 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2014 · Bald Mountain, Franconia Notch Area, White Mountains, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 5" (16 × 12 cm)

8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 3½" (11 × 9.4 cm) ID is uncertain

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire
≈ 2½ × 2½" (6.6 × 6.6 cm) ID is uncertain

Range: Zones 2-9:

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