Foothills, montane. Fields, openings, disturbed areas. Summer, fall.
Navajo Lake Trail, August 30, 2007.

Aster foliaceus grows from five to twenty-eight inches tall and is usually found in small colonies that arise from spreading roots. Basal leaves are often withered at flowering time and stem leaves are broad, prominently veined, and reduced in size and number upwards.  Hairs are often in one to few straight lines on the stem below the leaf base.  

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 and John Lindley named this species in 1836 from a specimen collected by Fischer in Unalaschka.   In 1995 G. L. Nesom proposed the renaming of many Asters to Symphyotrichum and that genus name is now generally accepted.  This species is known as Symphyotrichum foliaceum.

Foothills, montane. Fields, openings, disturbed areas. Summer, fall.
Navajo Lake Trail, August 30, 2007.

Foothills, montane. Fields, openings, disturbed areas. Summer, fall.
Mesa Verde national Park, September 9, 2007.

A major distinguishing factor between the two Asters shown on this page is their phyllaries: A. foliaceus gets its name from its broader and long, leaf-like (foliage-like) outer phyllaries.  Notice that the lower edges of the inner phyllaries is very light green/white.

Montane. Meadows, openings, streamsides. Summer, fall.
Wildcat Trail, August 28, 2007.

Aster spathulatus grows from four to twenty inches tall and occurs in colonies that arise from strong, spreading roots.  Basal leaves are usually narrow and up to five inches long and stem leaves are progressively shorter and more narrow.  Hairs (either upright or arched) are only on the leaf edges.

Montane. Meadows, openings, streamsides. Summer, fall.
Wildcat Trail, August 28, 2007.

Look carefully at the phyllaries of Aster spathulatus and you will notice that they are dark green at the tips and much lighter green, even almost white near the center and bottom.  You can see the white in the lower right bud.  Phyllaries are in several rows and the outer phyllaries are typically shorter, as in these flowers, but may all be about the same length.  

If you compare these phyllaries with those of A. foliaceus (above) you will see that A. spathulatus phyllaries are narrow, variable in length, and the tip is rather small and not sharply pointed; the phyllaries of A. foliaceus are broad, relatively equal in length (outer phyllaries are often even longer that inner ones), and much more gradually tapering, eventually to a finely drawn out tip. 

Montane. Meadows, openings, streamsides. Summer, fall.
Wildcat Trail, August 28, 2007.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 and John Lindley named this species in 1834 from a specimen collected by John Richardson on the Mackenzie River of Canada.  In 1995 G. L. Nesom proposed the renaming of many Asters to Symphyotrichum and that genus name is now generally accepted.  This species is known as Symphyotrichum spathulatum.