Lavender Stars of the High Country

Colorado in late September is about more than fall colors. Under cloudy skies, we set out on a short hike along the Lower Salt Lick and Sunrise Trail Loop. Although the trail runs parallel to Interstate 70 in places, it offers some beautiful vistas along the way and plenty of fall foliage.

This post, however, is all about one of my favorite Colorado wildflowers: the Leafy Aster. I love those bursts of lavender that pop up here and there among the golden grasses. For these images, I got my Sony RX10 V very low to the ground so I could include some of the surrounding landscape—the pines, the meadow, and the clouds hanging over the mountains.

Looking closely at these plants, I noticed that each stem tells the story of its own season. The freshest flowers, lower on the stem, have bright yellow centers. A little higher, some blooms still hold their lavender petals, but their centers have already turned a rusty orange. And at the very top, the oldest flower heads have dried out, their petals curled and gone, leaving fuzzy orange tufts on their way to becoming seed. Bud, bloom, fade, and seed, all on a single stem.

About the Leafy Aster

The Leafy Aster (Symphyotrichum foliaceum), also called the Leafy-bracted Aster, belongs to the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Botanists once placed it in the broad genus Aster as Aster foliaceus, but most North American asters have since been moved to Symphyotrichum.

• Where it grows: Western North America, from British Columbia and Alberta south to Arizona and New Mexico. It favors moist meadows, forest openings, and streamsides in montane and subalpine country, roughly 5,000 to 10,500 feet (about 1,500 to 3,200 meters) above sea level.
• What it looks like: Usually under 2 feet (about 60 centimeters) tall, with lavender to pinkish-purple ray petals — anywhere from 16 to 60 per flower head — surrounding a yellow center.
• Why “leafy”: The name refers to the outer bracts (phyllaries) beneath each flower head. They are wider and longer than the inner ones and often look like small green leaves, a handy clue for telling this aster apart from its many look-alikes.
• When it blooms: Mainly July through September, which makes it one of the last wildflowers still in color as the high country turns gold.
• A color-changing center: Many asters’ disc florets shift from yellow to reddish or orange as they age or after pollination, which may help steer bees and butterflies toward fresher, nectar-rich flowers. Because the top flower head on a stem usually opens first, the oldest blooms tend to sit highest on the plant.
• A variable species: Leafy Aster is notoriously variable, and botanists recognize four varieties, from compact alpine forms only a few inches tall to taller mountain meadow plants.

Stars, Tears, and Patience

The word “aster” comes from the Greek word for star, a fitting name for these star-shaped blooms. According to an ancient Greek legend, Astraea, the goddess associated with justice, innocence, and purity, wept after Zeus flooded the Earth to end a war among humans. Her tears turned to stardust, and wherever they touched the ground, star-shaped asters bloomed.

Over the centuries, asters have come to symbolize love, faith, wisdom, and patience. They are the birth flower for September — the very month I found these — and the traditional flower for a 20th wedding anniversary. In England, they are known as Michaelmas daisies because they peak around Michaelmas, September 29. Purple asters in particular are associated with wisdom and royalty.

Finding these little lavender stars glowing beneath gray Colorado skies felt like a reminder that some of the season’s best color is found close to the ground, as long as you’re willing to get down to its level. That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Colorado, FlowerHour, Leafy Aster, Lower Salt Lick and Sunrise Trail Loop, and Wildflowers. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.

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• Posted for Terri’s Flower Hour #52 (hosted by Pam of Enchanting Essex).
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Sources

• University of Waterloo Astereae Lab, “Symphyotrichum foliaceum”: https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/asters/symphyotrichum/symphyotrichum-subsect-occidentales/symphyotrichum-foliaceum
• The American Southwest, “Symphyotrichum foliaceum – Leafy Aster”: https://www.americansouthwest.net/plants/wildflowers/symphyotrichum-foliaceum.html
• Farmers’ Almanac, “September Birth Flower: Aster and Morning Glory Lore”: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/september-flower-lore