Symphyotrichum subspicatum(Nees) G.L.Nesom

Douglas aster

WFO wfo-0000126131 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Bruce Slater
fig. a Bruce Slater, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-16 / obs. 153663100
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Jeffrey Lee (he/him/his)
fig. b Jeffrey Lee (he/him/his), CC BY 4.0 / obs. 30064604
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Eric Knight
fig. c Eric Knight, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 22643940
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by 66dodge
fig. d 66dodge, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 4818663
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by John Hibbard
fig. e John Hibbard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 467158
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Brodie Cass Talbott
fig. f Brodie Cass Talbott, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50290238
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Bruce Slater
fig. g Bruce Slater, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153559135
Symphyotrichum subspicatum, photographed by Ed Alverson
fig. h Ed Alverson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149759240

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 8 botanical countries

Regions where Symphyotrichum subspicatum is native: Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington AlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaIdahoMontanaOregonWashington
Native distribution of Symphyotrichum subspicatum, 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
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Idaho IDA
Montana MNT
Oregon ORE
Washington WAS

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 11 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 butleri Rydb.
  • Aster ciliolatus var. maccallae (Rydb.) A.G.Jones
  • Aster douglasii Lindl.
  • Aster grayi Suksd.
  • Aster maccallae Rydb.
  • Aster subspicatus Nees
  • Aster subspicatus var. grayi (Suksd.) Cronquist
  • Aster subspicatus var. subspicatus
  • Symphyotrichum ciliolatum var. maccallae (Rydb.) G.L.Nesom
  • Symphyotrichum subspicatum var. grayi (Suksd.) G.L.Nesom
  • Symphyotrichum subspicatum var. subspicatum

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.