Symphyotrichum falcatum(Lindl.) G.L.Nesom

white prairie aster

WFO wfo-0000089239 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Syd Cannings
fig. a Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-07-22 / obs. 145457208
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Rachel Stringham
fig. b Rachel Stringham, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 76864616
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Colin Croft
fig. c Colin Croft, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 30670092
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Eric Lamb
fig. d Eric Lamb, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 82336562
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Colin Croft
fig. e Colin Croft, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 31474397
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Colin Croft
fig. f Colin Croft, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 31369361
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Colin Croft
fig. g Colin Croft, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 96566708
Symphyotrichum falcatum, photographed by Jared Shorma
fig. h Jared Shorma, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 155694656

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 29 botanical countries

Regions where Symphyotrichum falcatum is native: Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Oklahoma, Ontario, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaColoradoIdahoIllinoisIowaKansasManitobaMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNew MexicoNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesOklahomaOntarioSaskatchewanSouth DakotaTexasUtahWisconsinWyomingYukon
Native distribution of Symphyotrichum falcatum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Manitoba MAN
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Mexico NWM
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 33 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Aster biennis Torr.
  • Aster commutatus (Torr. & A.Gray) A.Gray
  • Aster commutatus subsp. commutatus
  • Aster commutatus var. commutatus
  • Aster commutatus var. crassulus (Rydb.) S.F.Blake
  • Aster commutatus var. polycephalus (Rydb.) S.F.Blake
  • Aster cordineri A.Nelson
  • Aster crassulus Rydb.
  • Aster elegantulus A.E.Porsild
  • Aster ericoides f. polycephalus (Rydb.) F.C.Gates
  • Aster ericoides var. commutatus (Torr. & A.Gray) B.Boivin
  • Aster falcatus Lindl.
  • Aster falcatus Lindl. ex DC.
  • Aster falcatus subsp. commutatus (Torr. & A.Gray) A.G.Jones
  • Aster falcatus subsp. falcatus
  • Aster falcatus var. commutatus (Torr. & A.Gray) A.G.Jones
  • Aster falcatus var. crassulus (Rydb.) Cronquist
  • Aster incanopilosus E.Sheld.
  • Aster multiflorus var. commutatus Torr. & A.Gray
  • Aster multiflorus var. incanopilosus (Lindl.) Rydb.
  • Aster neobiennis Brouillet, Semple & Y.L.Chen
  • Aster ramulosus Lindl. ex DC.
  • Aster ramulosus Lindl.
  • Aster ramulosus var. ramulosus

and 9 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.