Flora of New Zealand Series

Chinese aster

Erect annual herb, c. 10-40 cm tall. Stems ridged, sparsely hairy, single or branched to form infl. Basal and lower cauline lvs mostly withered at flowering, petiolate, ovate, coarsely serrate, with a few scattered hairs on veins of lower surface, ciliolate, 20-100 × 6-35 mm; mid and upper cauline lvs smaller, narrow- to broad-spathulate, apetiolate and cuneate, with few teeth or entire. Capitula 2.5-10 cm diam., solitary. Outer involucral bracts linear to spathulate, ciliate, 5-18 mm long; inner bracts spathulate, glabrous, ± = or < outer. Ligules white, pink to rose, or blue to purple, in 1 row or double, 1-3 cm long. Disc yellow. Achenes moderately hairy and with narrow glands, c. 3.5 mm long.

N.: Akatarawa Valley (Wellington); S.: Waimakariri R., Christchurch, Ashburton R. (lowland Canterbury), and Roxburgh (C. Otago).

E. Asia 1968

A rare casual of waste places, rubbish dumps, and shingle.

FL Feb-Apr.

Chinese aster or aster is widely cultivated as a bedding annual; ligule colour varies from white through pinks, reds, blues, purples and occasionally yellow and heads may be single, fully or semi-double.