Decurrent False Aster is an herbaceous perennial, a species of flowering plant native to a small area of Illinois and Missouri and is protected under the Endangered Species act. It grows along floodplains and wetlands and in moist bottomlands of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Although native to those area only, seeds may be obtained by gardeners in other areas of the country. The plant requires periodic flooding, but not continued standing water and can grow quite tall, requiring staking or other support. Decurrent False Aster typically forms a clump 4 to 6 feet tall on erect branching stems. Pale pink or purple-tinged to white daisy-like flowers (to 1” diameter) cover this aster-like plant with a profuse bloom in August and September. Each flower has pale pink to white rays with a yellow center disk. Decurrent False Aster prefers full sun, wet to moist conditions, and fertile soil containing loam, clay-loam, or silty deposits. The plant can tolerate drier conditions in gardens if it is watered during dry spells. The plant will grow best if cut back by a third in the Spring. Use this plant in water gardens, pollinator gardens and along streams, ponds and bogs. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: May require support when tall. Powdery mildew may be a problem.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Frequent Standing Water | Occasionally Wet
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Lance-shaped, clasping, spreading to drooping leaves are alternate on the stem and becoming smaller as they ascend. Central stems leaves are up to 7" long and 1½" across. Leaf venation is pinnate and prominent near the base. Lateral stems develop from the axils of the leaves, especially in the middle to upper sections. These leaves are smaller at 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide, elliptic or linear-lanceolate in shape, margins entire, and either sessile or decurrent at their bases forming wings.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Daisy-like flowers born on dome-shaped panicles up to 2 feet across from late Summer into Autumn. Each daisy-like flowerhead is ¾–1" across, consisting of 40-60 white to purple-tinged ray florets that surround a dense head of yellow disk florets.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Achenes are obovoid, somewhat flattened and winged. They are dispersed by the wind or float on water.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Either a solitary or branching central stems are vertically veined, glabrous, round and sometimes glaucous.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Central United States, eastern IL western MO
Distribution
Found in Eastern Illinois and Western Missouri, along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.