Symphyotrichum cordifolium (L.) G.L. Nesom

Heart-leaved aster, broad-leaved aster, common blue wood aster

About plant names...

Heart-leaved asters are North American natives.

Plants: Plants are 6-48" (15-121 cm) high, with mostly hairless stems below the flowerheads. Stems are green, reddening with age.

Leaves: Leaves are alternate, on petioles (stalks). They are 1½-6" (3.8-15 cm) long, heart-shaped with deeply cleft bases, pointed, sharply toothed, rough on top, hairy on the underside.

Flowers: Flowerheads are in the shape of panicles, roughly cone-shaped. Individual flowers are ½-¾" (1.5-1.9 cm) in diameter, with 8-20 (usually 10-16) blue to blue-purple ray petals. Sometimes they are pale, almost white. The central disc flowers are yellow, reddening with age. They appear from August to November.

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

Online References:

Symphyotrichum cordifolium at the Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Symphyotrichum cordifolium on

Symphyotrichum cordifolium on

Symphyotrichum cordifolium on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Symphyotrichum cordifolium at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Symphyotrichum cordifolium at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Symphyotrichum cordifolium on Ontario Wildflowers

Symphyotrichum cordifolium on eFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 18

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 454

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 354

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 6" (16 × 14 cm)

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

8/28/2013 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 6" (19 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 7" (14 × 17 cm)

9/30/2013 · Moose Point State Park, Searsport, Maine
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 15 cm)

8/28/2013 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)

9/18/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

8/28/2013 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 6" (11 × 15 cm)

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

9/18/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Symphyotrichum cordifolium description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Oct 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 9" (18 × 23 cm)

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 17 cm)

9/10/2016 · Worcester Road Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

9/10/2016 · Worcester Road Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

9/18/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 28 cm) ID is uncertain

9/30/2013 · Moose Point State Park, Searsport, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 10 cm)

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 4½" (11 × 11 cm)

9/30/2013 · Moose Point State Park, Searsport, Maine
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

10/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 11 cm)

Range: Zones 3-8:

About this map...