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Symphyotrichum prenanthoides
Also called Crooked Stem Aster, Zigzag Aster
Crookedstem aster is a rhizomatous perennial wildflower from northcentral and northeastern North America that forms colonies with tall, often zigzag stems topped with lavender-blue daisy-like flowers. It is best grown in moist, well-drained soil in sun to part shade.
Symphyotrichum prenanthoides (formerly Aster prenanthoides) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name crookedstem aster. It is native to northcentral and northeastern North America.
This rhizomatous perennial herb produces colonies of plants with stems that may exceed 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) in length. These stems grow upright to erect and may be crooked or nearly straight, often becoming thick and purple with age. The leaves vary in size and shape. The flower heads are borne in branching arrays on purplish stems. The ray florets are lavender or blue in color, or sometimes white. There are up to 30 ray florets measuring up to 15 millimeters (3⁄5 inch) in length. At the center are disk florets in shades of cream and yellow to purple or brown.
The Iroquois use this plant medicinally to treat fevers in babies and for other ailments.
Scaleleaf aster · Manyray aster · Anticosti Island aster · Western aster · Symphyotrichum bimater · Northern bog aster · Symphyotrichum bullatum · Symphyotrichum burgessii · Western meadow aster · Carneros Aster · Savanna aster · Symphyotrichum chihuahuense
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Symphyotrichum prenanthoides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
