Symphyotrichum frondosum(Nutt.) G.L.Nesom

short-rayed alkali aster

WFO wfo-0000001499 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Trevor Van Loon
fig. a Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-22 / obs. 200167885
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Jay Pruett
fig. b Jay Pruett, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177415164
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Jim Dreier
fig. c Jim Dreier, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 93770062
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Jesse Rorabaugh
fig. d Jesse Rorabaugh, CC0 1.0 / obs. 9723226
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Tim Messick
fig. e Tim Messick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161130844
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Leah Gardner
fig. f Leah Gardner, CC0 1.0 / obs. 94355529
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Alex Heyman
fig. g Alex Heyman, CC0 1.0 / obs. 85192140
Symphyotrichum frondosum, photographed by Leah Gardner
fig. h Leah Gardner, CC0 1.0 / obs. 50644886

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 12 botanical countries

Regions where Symphyotrichum frondosum is native: Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming ArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoIdahoMexico NorthwestNevadaNew MexicoOregonUtahWashingtonWyoming
Native distribution of Symphyotrichum frondosum, 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
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Idaho IDA
Mexico Northwest MXN
Nevada NEV
New Mexico NWM
Oregon ORE
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wyoming WYO

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 4 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 frondosus Torr. & A.Gray
  • Brachyactis ciliata var. carnosula Benth.
  • Brachyactis frondosa A.Gray
  • Tripolium frondosum Nutt.

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.