Some of Manitoba's Asters
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Here's a small sampling from the 20 or so species of asters that occur in our province. Wherever you are in Manitoba, from Emerson to Churchill, as summer turns to autumn you will find asters of some sort in bloom. Get out into your local prairies, fields, forests or marshes and savour the last blooms of summer. Remember, it will be six months, at least, before you'll see any wildflowers again!
Lindley's Aster
(Aster ciliolatus)
New England Aster
(Aster
novae-angliae)
Many-Flowered Aster
(Aster ericoides)
Western Silvery Aster
(Aster sericeus)
Willow Aster
(Aster hesperius)
Flat-Topped White Aster
(Aster umbellatus)
Smooth Aster
(Aster laevis)
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Lindley's Aster |
New England Aster |
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Many-Flowered Aster |
Western Silvery Aster |
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Willow Aster |
Flat-Topped White Aster |
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Smooth Aster |
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Lindley's Aster (Aster ciliolatus)A woodland or forest edge species. Grows to about 100 cm tall, usually with one, central flower stalk and several large, almost heart-shaped, basal leaves. Flower colour is light to medium blue.
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Many-Flowered Aster (Aster ericoides)A grassland plant occurring in prairies, meadows, ditches. It readily colonizes disturbed ground. Has a low, spreading growth form with many branching stems and tiny leaves. The small (<1 cm), white flowers are densely packed along the stems.
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Willow Aster (Aster hesperius)A wetland edge species. Growing to about 75 cm, it produces several leafy stalks with white to pinkish flowers near the top. The long leaves resemble those of a willow.
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Smooth Aster (Aster laevis)A species of grasslands and disturbed areas. The most common aster in southern Manitoba, it readily colonizes roadsides and other disturbed areas often producing large stands and beautiful displays of flowers. Grows as several leafy stalks sprouting bunches of pale blue flowers.
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New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)A prairie and forest edge species, found mainly in southeastern Manitoba. A tall, erect plant growing to 150 cm, with leafy stalks and large (3 cm across) bluish-purple flowers. Probably our largest and showiest aster.
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Western Silvery Aster (Aster sericeus)An uncommon species of sandy prairies and associated forest edge. Growth form is low and branching, reaching only to 40 cm in height. The leaves are covered in dense silvery-white hairs. The delicate looking flowers are mauve in colour.
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Flat-Topped White Aster (Aster umbellatus)A species of wetland edges and moist woodlands. Growth form is upright, to 100 cm, with leafy stalks. The white flowers are clustered at the top of the stem in a dense umbel or flat-topped bunch.
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