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Native Plant Society of Texas

Home » Native Plants » Native Plant Database » Symphyotrichum praealtum

Willowleaf Aster

Symphyotrichum praealtum

Other common name(s):

Family:

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Photo Credit: Lynn, Janice, https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=36088

Photo Credit: Lynn, Janice, https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=36093

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Southern Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairies

Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers

Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna

Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift

Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes

Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Semiarid Edwards Bajada, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub

Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie

Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Herbaceous

Height

2

to

6

ft.

Spread

.25

to

.5

ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Loam, Moist

Light Requirement

Sun, Part Shade

Water Requirement

Medium

Native Habitat

Grassland, Woodland, Wetland or Riparian

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

White, Blue, Purple, Violet

Bloom Season

Summer, Winter

Seasonal Interest

Forage, Nectar, Pollen, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Caterpillars, Butterflies, Birds, Deer, Moths, Bees

Maintenance

Prefers full sun, moist conditions, and fertile loamy soil. Leaves may show some yellowing and the formation of black spots, mostly on the older leaves near the base of the plant. Some standing water is tolerated if it is temporary. Give room to grow: the plant spreads by rhizomes and forms colonies.

Comments

Blooms August-November. The larger stems are reddish, with lines of white hairs. Leaves are lance shaped, with smooth margins, whitish green below, becoming smaller toward the top of the plant. The inflorescence is pyramidal shaped, containing numerous daisy-like composite flowers. Native habitat, wet, loamy soils, wet prairies or meadows, lake and stream shores, oak savannas, open woods or thickets, fields, moist banks, ditches, roadsides, recent clearings. Many kinds of insects visit the flowers, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, flies, butterflies, and skippers. Larval host: Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot), Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent) butterflies. Wild Turkeys eat the foliage and seeds. Deer and rabbits eat the foliage of immature plants.

References

1) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Symphyotrichum+praealtum&formsubmit=Search+Terms, 2) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=4482&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SYPR5, 4) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=522237) https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/willow_asterx.htm#null, 5

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State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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