Willow Aster
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum
KeystoneLarval hostBird foodPollinator plant
(c) Michael J. Papay, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Michael J. Papay
Growing it
| When | Flowers August to October; fruits September to October |
|---|---|
| Type | wildflower |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Medium, high |
| Soil | pH 5.5–7.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 3–8 |
| Mature height | 1.2 m |
| Mature spread | 0.9 m |
| Spacing | 0.6 m |
| Years to maturity | 2 |
| Bloom | Aug–Oct |
| Flower colour | White Purple Pink read from a published flora |
| In bloom | August September October |
| Fruit | Sep–Oct |
| Native to | AB, SK |
lance-shaped leaves about 8 cm long
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 176 records, high confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 71 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 47 records, high confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 35 records, high confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 32 records, high confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 13 records, medium confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 13 records, medium confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 8 records, medium confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 8 records, medium confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 6 records, low confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 5 records, low confidence
- Northern Continental Divide south AB: 3 records, low confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 3 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
58 documented relationships.
nectar for
- Aerial Yellowjacket Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- American Lady Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Ancistrocerus adiabatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Ancistrocerus catskill Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Andrena hirticincta Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Atlantis Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Bald-faced Hornet Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Bicoloured Sweat Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Black-shouldered Drone Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Bronze Copper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Calligrapher Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Celery Looper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Checkered White Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Clouded Sulphur Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Drone Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eastern Calligrapher Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eastern Tailed-Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eristalis flavipes Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Euodynerus foraminatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eupeodes americanus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Gray Hairstreak Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Great Spangled Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Half-black Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Halictus ligatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Helophilus fasciatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Hunt's Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Hypena humuli Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Meliscaeva cinctella Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Melissodes druriellus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Milbert's Tortoiseshell Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Monarch Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Mustard White Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Northern Paper Wasp Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Orange Sulphur Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Painted Lady Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Pearl Crescent Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Philanthus gibbosus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Red Admiral Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Sphaerophoria contigua Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Spotted Cucumber Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Tapinoma sessile Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Tricoloured Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Vespula flavopilosa Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Vespula maculifrons Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Viceroy Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Xestia c-nigrum Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Yellow-banded Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Yellow-collared Scape Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
pollen for
- Agapostemon texanus Robertson 1929
- Ageniella accepta Robertson 1929
- Atrichopogon fusculus Robertson 1929
- Liris argentatus Robertson 1929
- Megachile latimanus Robertson 1929
- Myospila meditabunda Robertson 1929
- Phasia robertsonii Robertson 1929
- Pseudopanurgus parvus Robertson 1929
- Syrphus torvus Robertson 1929
caterpillar host for
- Asteromyia modesta Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Also worth knowing
Safety
Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety
Buying it
About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually stocked by garden centres. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026
Where these numbers came from
- Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate