Aster

Aster
Genus:	Aster
Family:	Asteraceae
Type:	Annuals, biennials, perennials, and subshrubs
Pruning tolerance:	High

The genus Aster (syn. Diplopappus Cass.) includes some 600 species of widely distributed flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Aster comes from the Greek word for "star", and refers to the shape of the flower head. Many species and a variety of hybrids and varieties are now popular as garden plants because of their showy flower heads.

The genus Aster is now generally restricted to the Old World species, with Aster amellus being the type species of the genus (and of the family Asteraceae). The New World species have now been reclassified in the genera Almutaster, Canadanthus, Doellingeria, Eucephalus, Eurybia, Ionactis, Oligoneuron, Oreostemma, Sericocarpus and Symphyotrichum (see : List of Aster synonyms on Wikipedia), but are still widely referred to as "Asters" in the horticultural trade.

In the United Kingdom there are only two native members of the genus of which one, Goldilocks is very rare, the other being the Sea aster, Aster tripolium.

Description

The flowers are heads, borne in generally large terminal clusters. Rays female and strap-shaped, disk flowers perfect, usually yellow. Involcure green and of several rows. The seeds are achenes with a bristly pappus.

The leaves are alternate and simple.

Species

Some common species are:

• Aster alpinus
• Aster amellus ('European Michaelmas Daisy' or 'Italian Aster')
• Aster cordifolius ('Blue Wood Aster')
• Aster divaricatus ('White Wood Aster')
• Aster ericoides ('Heath Aster')
• Aster laevis
• Aster lateriflorus ('Lady in Black')
• Aster linosyris ('Goldilocks Aster')
• Aster novae-angliae ('New England Aster')
• Aster novi-belgii ('New York Aster')
• Aster pilosus ('Frost Aster')
• Aster pringlei
• Aster scaber
• Aster sibericus
• Aster tataricus
• Aster tongolensis
• Aster tripolium ('Sea Aster')

The China aster is in a related genus, Callistephus.

Uses

Asters make good fresh cut flowers. In the garden they are an excellent nectar source for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects.

Propagation

Division, seed.

Pests and Diseases

Powdery Mildew

• Erisiphe cichoracearum

Leaf Spots

• Alternaria
• Ascochyta compositarium
• Cercospora asterata
• Cercospora cana
• Discosphaerina pseudimantia
• Leptothyrium doellingeriae
• Ovularia asteris
• Ovularia virgaureae
• Phyllachora asterigens
• Ramularia asteris
• Septoria asteris
• Septoria astericola

Downy Mildew

• Basidiophora entospora

Gray Mold Wilt

• Fusarium oxysporum f. callistephi
• Verticillium

Cankers Rusts

• Coleosporium solidagnis: Alternate hosts 2/3 needle pines
• Puccinia asteris: Alternate hosts grasses and sedges
• Puccinia extensicola var. asteris: Alternate hosts grasses and sedges
• Puccinia grindeliae: Alternate hosts grasses and sedges
• Puccinia stipae:
• Uromyces compactus: Alternate hosts grasses and sedges
• Uromyces junci: Alternate hosts grasses and sedges

White Smut

Aster Yellows

Dodder

Aphids

• Leaf Curl Plum Aphid: Brachycaudus helichrysi
• Brown Ambrosia Aphid: Dactynotus ambrosiae
• Aphid: Macrosiphum artemesiae
• Aphid: Macrosiphum asterifoliae
• Crescent-marked Lily Aphid: Neomyzus circumflexus
• Petiole Gall Aphid: Pemphigus spp.:
• Erigeron Root Aphid: Aphis middletoni
• Western Aster Root Aphid: Aphis armoraciae

Hoppers

• Aster Leaf Hopper: Macrosteles facifrons
• Treehopper: Entylia carniata

Bugs

• Tarnished Plant Bug: Lygus lineolaris
• Chrysanthemum Lace Bug: Corythucha marmorata

Earwigs

• European Earwig: Forficula auricularia

Whitefly

• Greenhouse Whitefly: Trialeurodes vaporariorum
• Silverleaf Whitefly: Bemisia argentifolii
• Iris Whitefly: Aleyrodes spiraeoides

Maggots

• Leafminer: Amauromyza maculosa
• American Serpentine Leaf Miner: Liriomyza trifolii

Beetles

• Japanese Beetle: Popillia japonica
• Blister Beetles: Epicauta spp.

Weevils

• Black Vine Weevil: Otiorhynchus sulcatus

Caterpillars

• Clearwing Borer: Carmenta corni
• European Corn Borer: Ostrinia nubilalis
• Soybean Looper: Pseudoplusia includens

(w:list of Lepidoptera which feed on Aster) Mites

• Cyclamen Mite: Steneotarsonemus pallidus

Slugs and Snails

References

• Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Volume 3 (second edition ed.). Dover Publications, inc.. pp. 406-433. 
• Ann Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block (2000). The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual. Anna Anisko, illustrator. Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 176-188. 
• P. D. Strausbaugh and Earl L. Core (1977). Flora of West Virginia (Second ed.). Seneca Books, Grantsville, W. Virginia. pp. 942-955. 
• Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk (1997). The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. DK Publishing. pp. 148-150. 
• Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium (1976). Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press. pp. 121-125. 
• Pirone, Pascal P. (1978). Diseases & Pests of Ornamental Plants (Fifth Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 146-147. 
• Cranshaw, Whitney (2004). Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs. Princeton University Press. pp. 581. 
• Pippa Greenwood, Andrew Halstead, A.R. Chase, Daniel Gilrein (2000). American Horticultural Society Pests & Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying, and Treating Plant Problems (First Edition ed.). Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishing, inc.. pp. 198.