Asters are
beautiful perennials that are found wild in North America and southern Europe.
The genus Aster includes some 600 species of widely distributed flowering
plants in the family Asteraceae.
Asters are
also called as Starworts, Michaelmas Daisies, or Frost Flowers. Asters are
found chiefly in North America, with some species extending into South America;
others are distributed throughout Europe and Asia.
The word Aster is of
Greek derivation and refers to the Starlike flowers that can be white,
red, pink, purple, lavender and blue, mostly with yellow centers.
The genus
Aster is now generally restricted to the old world species, with Aster amellus
being the type species of the genus (and of the family Asteraceae). The new
world species have now been reclassified in the genera Almutaster, Canadanthus,
Doellingeria, Eucephalus, Eurybia, Ionactis, Oligoneuron, Oreostemma,
Sericocarpus and Symphyotrichum, but still the new world species are also
widely referred to as Asters in the horticultural trade.
Asters are
actually 1 - 1.5 - inch flowers. Asters are very complicated flowers. An Aster
flower is actually a collection of very tiny tubular flowers, grouped together
in a central disk, and surrounded by so-called ray flowers or petals, eg., Sunflower. The central disk
of flowers on the Asters is surrounded by the ring of ray flowers.
In many
cases the disk flowers are a different color than the petals so that the entire
flower head looks like a single flower with a central disk surrounded by
differently colored petals. The ray flowers on the Asters are never yellow. The
tubular flowers of the Asters are bisexual, having both a pistil and stamens;
the ray flowers are usually sterile.
Some popular
varieties of Asters are: Lindley's Aster (Aster ciliolatus), New England Aster
(Aster novae-angliae), Many-Flowered Aster (Aster ericoides), Western Silvery
Aster (Aster sericeus), Willow Aster (Aster hesperius), Flat-Topped White Aster
(Aster umbellatus), Smooth Aster (Aster laevis).
Facts About Asters
· Aster plants
are mostly coarse-growing, leafy-stemmed plants that are occasionally slightly
woody at the base.
· Most of the
Asters are perennials, but a few are annuals and biennials.
· All Asters
have alternate, simple leaves that are untoothed or toothed but rarely lobed.
· The leaves of
the Aster plant are often dark green and, like the flower petals, can also be
long, thin and pointed.
· Asters
generally bloom in late summer and fall,
but Alpine asters (Aster alpinus) flower in May and June.
· The two main
groups of Asters are New England Asters (Aster novae
anglias) and New York Asters (Aster nova belgii).
· Asters are one
of the easiest garden perennials to cultivate.
· Asters'
biggest problem is powdery mildew.
· Asters are
used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species.
· Asters are
oftentimes a prime target for birds, bees and butterflies because they are fragrant and
colorful.
· Many species
of Asters are drought resistant.
· Asters depend
on insects to pollinate them. Some insects that take pollen from one plant to
another include bees, butterflies, and flies.
· The seeds of
Bushy Asters are small achenes, and look like parachutes, which usually spread
by wind.
· The China
Aster (Callistephus cinensis), also a Compositae, a native of China, is related
to the true Asters.
Source: http://www.theflowerexpert.com/
