It is that time of year again! Call me old school but learning from a field guide is still the best way to learn, and that goes double for asters. Between their similarities and the narrow window each year to learn in situ, I just do not have the skills needed to identify them on the spot, or thin…

in the northeast, you can always go with the keys at the Native Plant Trust: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/dkey/symphyotrichum/ or https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/dkey/symphyotrichum/#all . for the entire US, you can use the Flora of North America key: http://floranorthamerica.org/Symp…

Newcomb’s wildflower guide also has a good key for these. Definitely a worthwhile reference for other groups too.

Yes I meant to mention the Newcomb’s guide… the one I have is out of date for this, and seems to leave out a level of detail for some species.

I would avoid the FNA key - it’s pretty out of date by now, and it’s a mess to try to navigate (mostly because of the wide scope). The character-states are not well delineated. It’s a headache to contemplate whether your flower head is truly “campanulate” or “cylindro-campanulate” and whether your p…

[image] ddennism: The character-states are not well delineated. True of Asteraceae as a whole in the Flora of North America, unfortunately.

[image] user82793: Northeast of where “The Northeast” in this context means northeastern United States.

Yes the Newcomb’s guide is out of date as well. The paintbrush stroke that is life on this planet how I see it, seems to go double for Asteraceae. I get all fired up to go out and lock down some species but in the end I always feel a bit lost and uncertain no matter how many photos I take. The va…

Aster Dichotomous Key (Northeast US)

Nature Talk

lamagswag September 26, 2022, 3:12pm 9

Yes sorry Northeastern North America

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Aster Dichotomous Key (Northeast US)

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