# Calico Aster (*symphyotrichum lateriflorum*)

The Calico Aster is a beautiful plant that blooms with colorful flowers in late summer and fall! It attracts butterflies and bees, making gardens lively and fun to explore.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Calico Asters thrive in meadows, fields, and along roadsides.
- **Also known as:** Frost Aster, Side Flowering Aster, White Aster

![Calico Aster](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Calico_Asters_25_September_2012_%28cropped2%29.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Cathie Bird, CC BY-SA 2.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calico_Asters_25_September_2012_%28cropped2%29.jpg)

## Appearance

The Calico Aster has many small, daisy-like flowers with white ray petals and a yellow-to-reddish central disk. Its distinguishing feature is the often purple-tipped ray petals, giving it a speckled, 'calico' appearance.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Asterales
- **Family:** Asteraceae
- **Genus:** Symphyotrichum

## Interesting facts

- Its tiny flowers, like miniature daisies, attract a huge party of buzzing bees and butterflies!
- The name 'aster' means 'star' in Greek, perfectly describing its many starry blossoms!
- This plant can grow in tough spots, even poor soil, showing it's a real survivor!
- Watch closely: its white petals can sometimes have tiny purple blushes, like nature's paint strokes!

## Special abilities

- **Late Season Lifeline:** Calico Aster can bloom late into fall, providing essential nectar for pollinators when other flowers have faded.
- **Wind Whispers:** Calico Aster has fluffy seeds that catch the wind, helping it spread its offspring far and wide to new homes.
- **Spreading Roots:** Calico Aster has underground rhizomes that allow it to spread and form dense patches, securing its spot.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 30-90 cm
- **Spread:** 30-60 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.5-1.5 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Late summer to fall
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** European honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Visits flowers for nectar.
- **Pollinates:** Common eastern bumblebee (*Bombus impatiens*) — Feeds on its late blooms.
- **Pollinates:** [Monarch butterfly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/monarch-butterfly) (*Danaus plexippus*) — Sips nectar from blossoms.
- **Eaten by:** [White-tailed deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-tailed-deer) (*Odocoileus virginianus*) — Deer browse on its foliage.

## Traits

- [Perennial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/perennial): Perennial plants live for more than two years, typically returning to grow and bloom each year from their roots.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Pollinator](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator): Describes organisms that transfer pollen, enabling the fertilization and reproduction of plants.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Calico Aster?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Calico Aster?

30-90 cm

### How wide does Calico Aster spread?

30-60 cm

### How big are the flowers on Calico Aster?

0.5-1.5 cm

### When does Calico Aster bloom?

Late summer to fall

### Is Calico Aster edible?

No

### Is Calico Aster toxic?

None

### What is Calico Aster's lifecycle?

Perennial

## Where to spot

- [Bradford Downtown Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bradford-downtown-historic-district) — Pennsylvania, US · Historic District
- [Parc de l'Amérique-Latine](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/parc-de-lam-rique-latine) — Quebec, CA · Park

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Calico Aster: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/calico-aster)