Distinctive features:
Woods. Short plant. Has what appear to be whorls of leaves. Flowers in a globular cluster at top of plant. Flower petals (rays) not straight like other asters.
Similar species: Flat-topped White Aster (Doellingeria umbellata) - Leaves are narrower. Large-leaved Aster (Eurybia macrophylla) - Has large basal leaves, and all of its leaves are not in a whorl.
Here is the overall shape and form of the plant. The flowers are in a roughly globe-shaped cluster at the top of the plant. The plant itself is not very tall -- up to only about one foot tall.
A view from above. Note how the flowers spread out.
A close-up view of two flowers.
Note the whorled aspect to the leaves in this photo.
A "grove" of Whorled Asters. They may grow solitary or in colonies like this. These photos were taken in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in mid-September. In Ontario this Aster only occurs in a small part of far southeastern Ontario, close to Quebec.
PLEASE NOTE: A coloured Province or State means this species occurs somewhere in that Province/State.
The entire Province/State is coloured, regardless of where in that Province/State it occurs.
(Range map provided courtesy of the USDA website
and is displayed here in accordance with their
Policies)