WildFlower Wednesday Week 2

 Its Friday not Wednesday, but there is still time to do a wildflower of the week!

Introducing the New England Aster!!!

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

The New England Aster is in the aster family, and blooms from August to October, it offers a very nice purple touch to the fall wildflowers. Typically the aster can be found in prairies, savannas, and open fields where other open range wildflowers grow. The New England aster prefers moister soils, but can grow very well in different areas. 

The actual plant has alternating leaves, with a hairy stem, and usually clusters of 3 flowers. The claim to fame is the purple petals and yellow center. Not to be confused with smooth asters, which also have large purple flowers. Smooth asters are more lavender, where the New England Aster found in the wild will typically exhibit darker purple flowers.

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/symphyotrichum-novae-angliae/

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/symphyotrichum_novae-angliae.shtml 

From my personal experience, I have seen A LOT of New England Asters when I go hiking outdoors. 

A fen is a specific habitat described here : "Fens are an important and unique wetland type. Fens are peat-forming wetlands that rely on groundwater input and require thousands of years to develop and cannot easily be restored once destroyed. Fens are also hotspots of biodiversity. They often are home to rare plants, insects, and small mammals. Larger animals like deer and livestock graze in this type of wetland. Fens are valuable to humans as well. They are important as sites of groundwater discharge and are good indicators of shallow aquifers. Vegetation in all wetlands plays an important role in recycling nutrients, trapping eroding soil, and filtering out polluting chemicals such as nitrates. In addition, fens figure prominently in nearly all scenarios of CO2-induced global change because they are a major sink for atmospheric carbon" 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/California_Fens/what.shtml

Fens are a great place to find New England Asters, as well as other wetland areas around where you live. I am fortunate enough to live close to a fen and some good wetlands preserves where there is an abundance of wild New England Aster from. I even took some mature seeds home and will attempt to grow my own in the spring. 

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

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