Prairie Golden Aster (Heterotheca camporum) is a robust taprooted, coarsely but often thinly hairy perennial herb, from 16 to 40″ tall with slender creeping rhizomes as well as a taproot.
Leaves are alternate, more or less lance-shaped, to 3″ long and 0.8″ wide, mostly entire, but sometimes with a few small sharp teeth. The disks are from 0.5 to 1.0″ wide and yellow. The 21 to 34 rays are yellow about 0.4″ long.
Asteraceae/Compositae (ASTER/COMPOSITE FAMILY)
Bloom Time: August – September.
Where Found: Fields and roadsides. A praire species of the Midwest, recently introduced into the southeastern U.S., Middle and East TN.
Notes: Golden Asters have been placed in three genera: Chrysopsis, Heterotheca, and Pityopsis. They have been reclassified several times, and even for the trained botanist, it is a taxonomically difficult group. Golden Asters may be identified in various manuals by a number of different names.
Photos taken: Lock 5 in Wilson County.
