Alternate name: New England American-aster

Family: Asteraceae, Aster view all from this family

Description Large, stout, hairy, leafy plant with bright lavender to purplish-blue flower heads clustered at ends of branches.
Flowers: heads 1-2" (2.5-5 cm) wide; ray flowers 35-45; disk flowers yellowish; bracts beneath flower heads narrow, hairy, sticky; flowerstalk with sticky hairs (glandular).
Leaves: 1 1/2-5" (3.8-12.5 cm) long, lanceolate, toothless, clasping large stem.
Height: 3-7' (90-210 cm).

Flower August-October.

Habitat Wet thickets, meadows, and swamps.

Range Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia, west to Utah, and north to Montana; also in New Mexico and the Pacific Northwest.

Discussion The flower color is variable, ranging from lavender to blue to white. A pink variety of this species is sometimes grown commercially.