calico aster

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a clump-forming perennial that grows 20–120 centimeters (3⁄4–4 feet) tall and up to 30 cm (1 ft) wide. Herbaceous and with alternate leaves, it can have a different appearance throughout its lifespan or a season. For example, a mature or returning plant, or one late in the season, may have one or more stiff stems that reach close to maximum height, several arching branches, and multiple clusters of flowers (inflorescences). An early or first-year plant may have one short and somewhat floppy stem, several large leaves, and end abruptly with one flower head in the center.

Roots. The roots of Symphyotrichum lateriflorum have short and woody branched caudices, and can have short rhizomes that may produce offsets. The images of caudices are from dried specimens of S. lateriflorum that are stored in the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) Steere Herbarium.

Stems. Symphyotrichum lateriflorum has from one to five stems growing from the root base. These stems can be a reddish or purplish color, often with a woody appearance, or a shade of green. Characteristics can depend on the prevalence of sun, with the green stems occurring more likely in the shade.

Slender and wiry inflorescence-filled branches grow from the stems at almost a right angle or in long arches. Shorter branches may ascend rather than arch. …

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum has been found in the wild in the United States in all states east of the Mississippi River; in the states on the west Mississippi River bank (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana); and, in the western states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is also present in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In Mexico, it is present in the state of Veracruz. S. lateriflorum is native throughout its current North American range. The USDA PLANTS Database records a presence in British Columbia, but Flora of North America states that it was an ephemeral there that did not persist. Varietal distributions have been recorded as follows:

S. lateriflorum var. angustifolium has been found in Ontario, as well as in the U.S. region of New England except Rhode Island, and in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin. S. lateriflorum var. flagellare is documented in Oklahoma and Texas. S. lateriflorum var. hirsuticaule is documented in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. Because it is considered a taxonomic synonym and not a variety of the species in most databases, United States distribution data cannot be found. S. lateriflorum var. horizontale has been found in New Brunswick, and in all U.S. …

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is considered a weed species in Canada and the United States. It is not considered a noxious weed in either country. Canadian botanists Jerry G. Chmielewski and John C. Semple called it "probably the least weedy of the weedy aster species in Canada". S. lateriflorum has coefficients of conservatism (C-value) in the Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) that range from 1 to 10 depending on evaluation region. The lower the C-value, the higher tolerance the species has for disturbance. In the case of a low C-value, there is lesser likelihood that the plant is growing in an undisturbed or remnant habitat with native flora and fauna. For example, in the Atlantic coastal pine barrens of Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island, S. lateriflorum has been given a C-value of 1, meaning its presence in locations of that ecoregion provides little or no confidence of a remnant habitat. In contrast, in the Dakotas, S. lateriflorum has a C-value of 10, meaning its populations there are not weedy and are restricted to only remnant habitats which have a very low tolerance for environmental degradation.

Reproduction. Calico aster's primary means of reproduction is through pollination, which occurs with the help of short or mid-length tongued insects that are able to manipulate the small flower heads successfully and transfer pollen from one plant to another. …

In 1928, ethnobotanist Huron Herbert Smith documented the Meskwaki use of this plant as a psychological aid using the "blossoms as a smudge 'to cure a crazy person who has lost his mind'", and as an herbal steam using the entire plant "as a smoke or steam in sweatbath". The Meskwaki word is no'sîkûn, and the Potawatomi pûkwänä'sîkûn. Both words mean "smoke a person". In her 1979 book Use of Plants for the Past 500 Years, Charlotte Erichsen-Brown documented that the Mohawk people use an infusion of this plant with Symphyotrichum novae-angliae to treat fever.

In 1748, Linnaeus' apostle Pehr Kalm traveled to North America from Europe. He stayed for two and a half years studying flora and fauna and gathering specimens for study by Linnaeus, returning home in 1751. Kalm's travels in North America took him to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and southeastern Canada. One of the samples he gathered was described by Linnaeus as Solidago lateriflora, now the basionym of Symphyotrichum lateriflorum. Linnaeus recorded the specimen's origin as "Habitat in America Septentrionali" (Latin for "It grows in North America"), and that it was provided by Kalm. Linnaeus classified this plant in the genus Solidago which now contains over 130 of the many species known today as goldenrods. At that time, Linnaeus sorted fifteen of his available specimens into this genus and included them in his two-volume Species Plantarum (1753).

In 1789, Scottish botanist William Aiton included Solidago lateriflora in his Hortus Kewensis, the first edition of a catalogue of the plants cultivated at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where he had been the director since 1759. In separate entries, he also described an Aster diffusus, Aster divergens, and Aster miser, all as separate species definitions from Solidago lateriflora. In the A. miser section, Aiton referenced the A. miser of Linnaeus "excluso synonymo Dillennii". …