Symphyotrichum novi-belgii

Ecology:	River shores, salt marshes, roadside ditches, damp meadows
Blooming Period:	August - September
Typical Height Range:	2 to 4 feet (6 to 12 dm)
*[ Our plants are var novi-belgii* and var elodes. ]**
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What to look for in the field:
Capitulescence is in the shape of a panicle. Heads are not crowded on branches and are located mostly near ends of branches.
Stems are mostly glabrous below, becoming pubescent in lines above.
Basal and lower stem leaves are deciduous by flowering. Mid- to upper stem leaves tend to be long and narrowly lanceolate, slightly clasping the stem, somewhat reduced in size upwards. Branch leaves are numerous, similar, but much smaller than stem leaves.
Heads are medium sized, 2.6 to 3.0 cm wide, with bright blue rays (rarely white) and yellow disc florets. Phyllaries are variable, from relatively short and widely spreading, to long and recurved, and nearly foliaceous (leaf-like). View image of involucre and phyllaries.
[ Notes: (1) Some texts report the ray color of this species as a deep blue-violet or deep violet, presumably like that of S. novae-angliae. Of the many populations of S. novi-belgii which I have seen in New England, all have various shades of pale blue-violet rays, and in a few cases, rays that are nearly white. I suspect that they are confusing S. novi-belgii with some other species, perhaps a midwestern species, that may be very similar in other respects, such as S. robynsianum. (2) The two varieties of S. novi-belgii in our region are distinguished primarily by leaf characteristics. The leaves of "var elodes" are extremely long and narrow, 10+ times longer than wide and less conspicuously clasping, whereas those of "var novi-belgii" are long and narrow, but less than 10 times longer than wide, and more conspicuously clasping. We treat them as one here. ]
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State Status *	CT	MA	RI	VT	NH	ME
State Status *	P	P	P	P	P	P