Photos and Characteristics of Wetland Plant Species > This Category

Symphyotrichum firmum ~ smooth swamp aster

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Characteristics:

• FACW

• Michigan C Value: 4

• formerly known as Aster firmus or a subspecies of Aster puniceus

• pale blue or pale lilac flowers (often almost white)

• leaves CLASPING the stems

• few hairs on stems (all hairs mostly in straight lines)

• leaves do not typically get bigger down the stem

• stem typically mainly greenish but can be often purplish

• often compact and leafy to the top of the plant

• can be a BIG bushy plant

• spreads by long, creeping rhizomes (colonial)

• can form large showy colonies

• often in somewhat dryer habitats than S. puniceum

• a typical sedge meadow dominant

• commonly near Symphyotrichum puniceum

• native