Symphyotrichum racemosum (Elliott) G.L. Nesom
Small white aster, small-flowered white aster, smooth white oldfield aster
Small white aster is native to eastern North America.
Plants: 12–35″ (30–90 cm) tall.
Leaves: Alternate, sometimes toothed, unlobed, ⅛–1½ ⨉ ⅛–½″ (5–40 ⨉ 5–15 mm) in size.
Flowers: Numerous flowers are clustered along long stems in racemes. The central disk is yellowish, aging to a pinkish color. Ray flowers are white to pink, with 16-20 rays, rarely as few as 12. Flowers are about ½″ (1.3 cm) across, and they tend to cluster along one side of each branch. They appear from August to October.
Fruits: Cypselae are gray or tan, egg-shaped, 1/32–1/16″ (1–1.8 mm) long. Pappi hairs are 1/16–⅛″ (2.5–3.5 mm) long, acting as tiny parachutes.
Habitats: Floodplains, swamps and marshes, wet to moderate clearings, fields, meadows, roadsides.
See our aster comparison table here. Or check Arieh Tel’s well-researched and informative aster comparison site.
Online References:
References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 288
9/1/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 6″ (15 × 14 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/24/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/24/2010 · Nissitissit River Wildlife Management Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 5 × 7″ (12 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 11 cm) 
9/4/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Area, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 14 cm) 
9/4/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Area, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (16 × 13 cm) 
8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/1/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Symphyotrichum | From Greek symphysis, “borne together or growing together, coalescing,” and trichinos, “hair, a single hair” |
| Species | racemosum | With flowers in racemes |
Symphyotrichum racemosum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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