This native fall aster is still a top US sighting
iNaturalist Community
Native Plants
If you've noticed clusters of small blue-purple daisies lighting up shady woodland edges this week, you're likely seeing the same plant thousands of other naturalists are logging right now.
Common Blue Wood Aster is a native wildflower with heart-shaped leaves and small blue-purple daisy-like blooms that light up woodland edges in fall. Right now it's one of the most-spotted plants on the citizen science app iNaturalist, with 577 people logging sightings in just one week across the US. That's actually a drop from the week before, when 787 people spotted it, suggesting its peak bloom window is starting to wind down.
Key Findings
577 observations of Symphyotrichum cordifolium were logged in the US in the past 7 days
That's a decrease of 210 observations compared to 787 the previous week
The species ranked among the most-observed plants on iNaturalist nationally this week
chevron_right Technical Summary
Citizen scientists logged 577 sightings of the Common Blue Wood Aster across the US in the past week, making it one of the most-observed plants on iNaturalist right now, even though that's down from 787 sightings the week before.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: Common Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) — 577 observations this week
Common Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) is a species in the family Asteraceae. iNaturalist users recorded 577 observations of it in the United States in the 7 days before today, among t...
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Symphyotrichum cordifolium, commonly known as common blue wood aster, heartleaf aster, and blue wood-aster, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America. It reaches heights of up to 1.2 meters and has bluish daisy-like flowers whic...