Doellingeria umbellata (Mill.) Nees var. umbellata
Flat-topped white aster, umbellate aster, parasol whitetop, tall flat-topped white aster
Flat-topped white asters are natives of North America.
Plants: These asters are named for the tendency of their flowerheads to form a flat-topped mass, but they may also be rounded. Plants are 1½–6½′ (50–200 cm) high. Stems are green, sometimes purple or yellowish-brown.
Leaves: 2–4″ long ⨉ ½–⅞″ wide (6–11 ⨉ 1.3–2.5 cm). They are smooth when rubbed in one direction, rough in the other, elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic. They have prominent veins, a distinctive characteristic, and pale or whitish green undersides.
Flowers: Flowerheads are panicles 3–12″ (7.6–30 cm) around. Individual flowers are about ½″ (1.3 cm) across, with 5-16 white ray florets and 12-50 tiny disc florets in the center. The disc is yellow, aging to tan-colored.
Fruits: Dry seeds with miniature parachutes.
Habitats: Moist thickets, meadows, roadsides, swamp edges.
See our aster comparison table here.
Online References:
Aster umbellatus Mill.
9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
9/15/2016 · Cadillac Mountain Summit, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine 
8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
8/14/2021 · Maquoit Bay Conservation Area, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 3 × 5″ (8.4 × 12 cm) 
9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain 
Gall may be caused by a species of Gnorimoschema. · 6/24/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 13 cm) 
9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 10 × 12″ (25 × 30 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
Gall may be caused by a species of Gnorimoschema. · 6/18/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine 
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
8/14/2021 · Maquoit Bay Conservation Area, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.4 cm) 
6/15/2025 · Morse Mountain Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 1 × 2′ (38 × 57 cm) 
9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
8/19/2018 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm) 
9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 8″ (25 × 21 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/28/2020 · Jack’s and Litchfield Trails, Chase Reserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (32 × 44 cm) 
The caterpillars are brown-hooded owlets (Cucullia convexipennis). · 9/9/2023 · Flying Point, Georgetown, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 10 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 1 × 1′ (34 × 41 cm) 
9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
9/15/2016 · Cadillac Mountain Summit, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine 
9/16/2016 · Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor, Maine 
9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 14 × 11″ (34 × 26 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 8 × 7″ (20 × 16 cm) 
9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (12 × 14 cm) 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 7″ (21 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine 
9/27/2023 · New Meadows Trail, Basin Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm) 
9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain 
This individual is about six feet high. · 8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine 
8/17/2014 · Bald Mountain, Franconia Notch Area, White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 5″ (17 × 12 cm) 
8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 15 cm) 
8/17/2014 · Bald Mountain, Franconia Notch Area, White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm) 
8/19/2018 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm) 
8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm) 
8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
8/8/2015 · Mt. Wachusett · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 | Doellingeria | For German botanist Ignatz Doellinger (1770–1841) |
| Species | umbellata | Refers to the arrangement of the flowers which arise in a head from a central point, i.e. bearing an umbel |
| var. | umbellata | Refers to the arrangement of the flowers which arise in a head from a central point, i.e. bearing an umbel |
Doellingeria umbellata var. umbellata description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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