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Photographer: Marcie O'Connor
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Family Asteraceae
Aster oblongifolius Nutt.
aromatic aster
Aster: from the Greek aster, "a star," describing the radiate heads of the flowers
oblongifolius: oblongus for "longer than wide, oblong;" folia for "leaf"
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | weakly erect, perennial, 4"-40" tall forb; stems stiff, brittle, more or less branched; from colony-forming rhizomes |
| Flower: | head 3/4"- 1 1/4" wide with 15-40 blue to purple rays; inflorescence of several to many heads in large clusters at the ends of the branches; blooms Sept.-Oct. |
| Fruit: | dry seed with silky, fluffy pappus |
| Leaf: | stiff, entire, stalkess, usually slightly clasping, narrowly oblong, yellowish to dark green, coarsely hairy |
| Habitat: | full sun; dry; prairies, cliffs |
| (Glossary) |
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