Symphyotrichum drummondii
Drummond’s aster [Blooms: Sep – ?]
Drummond’s aster (Symphyotrichum drummondii) flowerheads. Top: a branch of Drummond’s aster heavily laden with flowers. The older blooms (reddish purple centers) outnumber the newly opened blooms (yellow centers). Bottom right: a closer view of some Drummond’s aster flowerheads. The disc florets are initially yellow but turn reddish purple over time. The rays (petals) of the ray florets are nominally white but more often are white with a touch of purple (as here) or blue. Bottom left: close-up of the base of a Drummond’s aster flowerhead showing the phyllaries (bracts) covering the base. The phyllaries of Drummond’s aster are light green with a diamond-shaped patch of dark green near the tip.
The leafy stems of Drummond’s aster end in a panicle 1/2-2 feet long and half as wide bearing white flowerheads with yellow or maroon centers. Individual flowerheads are 1/2-3/4″ across; they have 10-15 ray florets and 13-15 disk florets. The ray florets have bright blue, purple, or white tubular corollas and white rays (petals); the disk florets have cream to yellow tubular corollas, turning deep purple or reddish purple with age. Both disk florets and ray florets are perfect with bright yellow anthers on the stamens and white, bifurcated styles, but the ray florets are sterile. The base of the flowerhead is covered with 4-5 series of overlapping, light green phyllaries (bracts). Each phyllary is 4-6 mm long, light green, with a diamond-shaped patch of dark green near their tip. The fruit is a dry seed with a tuft of attached brown to white hairs. Note that the leaf petioles are winged and the leaves are broad and toothed. The upper surface of the leaf is rough (unlike Short’s aster, the most common species in Jackson Park that you might confuse with Drummond’s aster). The even pubescence (down-like hairs) on the underside of the leaves and along the stems distinguishes Drummonds aster from the other look-alike aster in Jackson Park, white arrowleaf aster (Symphyotrichum urophyllum). The phyllary pigmentation is also distinctive.
Drummond’s aster (Symphyotrichum drummondii) stems and leaves. (1) Alternate stem leaves of Drummond’s aster. (2) A lower stem leaf of Drummond’s aster showing the upper surface of the leaf (2a), the underside of the same leaf (2c) and a close-up of the petiole (2b) of this leaf showing the “wings” (fringe of leaf tissue) of the petiole. (3) An upper stem leaf of Drummond’s aster showing the upper surface of the leaf (3a), the underside of the same leaf (3c) and a close-up of the petiole (3b) of this leaf showing the “wings” (fringe of leaf tissue) of the petiole. Note that the wings on this petiole are much narrower than on the lower stem leaves.
Drummond’s aster is a native wildflower that produces a small rosette of basal leaves 3-8″ across; each basal leaf is 3/4-2.5″ long and 1/2-2 wide. The basal leaves are oval or heart-shaped, with toothed margins; they have 2″ long slender petioles. The leaves are a medium green which may turn to purple if the leaves are exposed to a frost. The basal leaves persist from the autumn to the following spring when a new rosette is produced. During the spring, the plant bolts, producing leafy stems 1.5-3 feet long, initially erect, light green to purple in color, fuzzy with short hairs. The stem leaves are alternate, 1-4″ long and 1/2-3″ wide, getting shorter higher on the stem. The lower stem leaves are heart shaped; higher on the stem the leaves range from oval with heart-shaped bases to lance shaped. All stem leaves have winged petioles; the petioles are 1/2-2″ long. The stem leaves are stiff and rough to the touch (sandpapery), often with secondary leaves in the leaf axils.
A Drummond’s aster (Symphyotrichum drummondii) growing on the eastern edge of the woods west of “Jackson Bark” (east of the trail to Bobolink Meadow).
Drummond’s aster is a native wildflower that produces a small rosette of basal leaves 3-8″ across; each basal leaf is 3/4-2.5″ long and 1/2-2 wide. The basal leaves are oval or heart-shaped, with toothed margins; they have 2″ long slender petioles. The leaves are a medium green which may turn to purple if the leaves are exposed to a frost. The basal leaves persist from the autumn to the following spring when a new rosette is produced. During the spring, the plant bolts, producing leafy stems 1.5-3 feet long, initially erect, light green to purple in color, fuzzy with short hairs. The stem leaves are alternate, 1-4″ long and 1/2-3″ wide, getting shorter higher on the stem. The lower stem leaves are heart shaped; higher on the stem the leaves range from oval with heart-shaped bases to lance shaped. All stem leaves have winged petioles; the petioles are 1/2-2″ long. The stem leaves are stiff and rough to the touch (sandpapery), often with secondary leaves in the leaf axils. Leafy stems end in a panicle 1/2-2 feet long and half as wide bearing white flowerheads with yellow or maroon centers. Individual flowerheads are 1/2-3/4″ across; they have 10-15 ray florets and 13-15 disk florets. The ray florets have bright blue, purple, or white tubular corollas and white rays (petals); the disk florets have cream to yellow tubular corollas, turning deep purple or reddish purple with age. Both disk florets and ray florets are perfect with bright yellow anthers on the stamens and white, bifurcated styles, but the ray florets are sterile. The base of the flowerhead is covered with 4-5 series of overlapping, light green phyllaries (bracts). Each phyllary is 4-6 mm long, light green, with a diamond-shaped patch of dark green near their tip. The fruit is a dry seed with a tuft of attached brown to white hairs. Note that the leaf petioles are winged and the leaves are broad and toothed. The upper surface of the leaf is rough (unlike Short’s aster, the most common species in Jackson Park that you might confuse with Drummond’s aster). The even pubescence (down-like hairs) on the underside of the leaves and along the stems distinguishes Drummonds aster from the other look-alike aster in Jackson Park, white arrowleaf aster (Symphyotrichum urophyllum). The phyllary pigmentation is also distinctive.
Jackson Park asters (genus Symphyotrichum) — phyllaries
First row, left to right: Drummond’s aster (S. drummondii), heath aster (S. ericoides), smooth blue aster (S. laeve).
Second row, left to right: panicled aster (S. lanceolatum), calico aster (S. lateriflorum), New England aster (S. novae-angliae).
Third row, left to right: skyblue aster (S. oolentangiense), hairy aster (S. pilosum), Short’s aster (S. shortii).
Fourth row: white arrowleaf aster (S. urophyllum).
Phyllaries are small bracts that cover the underside of aster flowerheads. Often the most reliable character to distinguish among the species of aster in Jackson Park are the size, shape, and color of the phyllaries. Here I offer a single montage showing the phyllaries of all of the Jackson Park asters; if you have a picture of the phyllaries of some hard-to-ID species, this page may resolve your issues.
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![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
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