Symphyotrichum patens(Aiton) G.L.Nesom

late purple aster

WFO wfo-0000084749 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. a Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-25 / obs. 191151196
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Michael J. Papay
fig. b Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 165326135
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Michael J. Papay
fig. c Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 163581771
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Bonnie Semmling
fig. d Bonnie Semmling, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162336450
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Michael J. Papay
fig. e Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 159243607
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by saltyhiker
fig. f saltyhiker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 159163801
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by saltyhiker
fig. g saltyhiker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 159076075
Symphyotrichum patens, photographed by Bonnie Semmling
fig. h Bonnie Semmling, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 156575537

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 30 botanical countries

Regions where Symphyotrichum patens is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia AlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMississippiMissouriNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest Virginia DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Symphyotrichum patens, 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. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Pennsylvania PEN
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA

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 21 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 alatus Aikin
  • Aster amplexicaulis Michx.
  • Aster arnottii Nees ex Torr. & A.Gray
  • Aster auritus Lindl. ex DC.
  • Aster continuus Small
  • Aster patens Aiton
  • Aster patens f. patens
  • Aster patens var. gracilis Hook.
  • Aster patens var. patentissimus (Lindl. ex DC.) Torr. & A.Gray
  • Aster patens var. tenuicaulis C.Mohr
  • Aster patentissimus Lindl. ex DC.
  • Aster patentissimus Lindl.
  • Aster subsessilis E.S.Burgess
  • Aster tenuicaulis E.S.Burgess
  • Aster virgatus Elliott
  • Lasallea patens (Aiton) Semple & Brouillet
  • Symphyotrichum patens var. patens
  • Virgulus patens (Aiton) Reveal & Keener
  • Virgulus patens var. gracilis (Hook.) Reveal & Keener
  • Virgulus patens var. patens
  • Virgulus patens var. patentissimus (Lindl.) Reveal & Keener

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.