Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Mediterranean shrubland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

California Aster is a native perennial wildflower that blankets coastal sage scrub and chaparral hillsides with clusters of lavender daisy-like blooms from late summer through fall. Its late-season flowers are a critical nectar source for monarch butterflies and native bees when most other plants have finished blooming.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Corethrogyne
Species: Corethrogyne filaginifolia