Unknown flower I'd like identified

19 years ago

I took a photo of a flower down the road last fall, and when I showed it to my brother he didn't know what it was, so I went to find it again, but couldn't, and so far no one else has been able to identify it either. Here's the photo; if anyone could identify it that'd be great :)

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Comments (15)

fairy_toadmother
19 years ago
whatever it is,, it is a beautiful pic! i also like to look at foliage. do you have any of that? is it a close up of chicory? if so, i never knew it was so pretty.
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crimson_penguin
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks :) Carol sent me an email, and said it's an Aster (though it's quite different from the other Asters I've taken pictures of.) I'm not sure how many pictures I have of foliage, but the ones I do have would be under "Other Stuff", on my site; www.happyspork.com (hopefully that's not considered an ad, since I don't make any money from the site.)
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ahughes798
19 years ago
I'm pretty sure it's not an aster. A picture of the leaves would be helpful, I looked on your site and couldn't see a picture of the leaves, really. Asters usually bloom much later in the season here(mid/late summer), and you're in 3b.

It almost looks like the flower of the wild onion..but those are not quite blooming here, either. April
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crimson_penguin
Original Author
19 years ago
Hmm.. thanks. The picture is from last fall (September 6th,) and I didn't take any others, unfortunately. We'll see if I find again this year. If it helps, it was on the side of a dirt road, with trees either side. The mystery flower has gotten even more mysterious :)
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forgetmenot3068
19 years ago
I apologize if this post isn't in the right place but this is my first time using this forum and im not sure how to do it..
Anyway, these flowers are in my yard and many yards around mine but no one can figure out what they are. If anyone knows what they're called please let me know. They might be weeds but I'm curious anyway. Thanks :)
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crimson_penguin
Original Author
19 years ago
It's (some kind of) bluets. (My brother looked it up.)
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TonyfromOz
19 years ago
Carol referred this posting to me to see if I had any thoughts.

Firstly, there's no possible doubt that it's a composite, i.e. family Asteraceae. A number of disk florets can clearly be seen in the centre of the 'flower'.

Secondly, it's more consistent with Aster or its close relatives than with many other composites such as chicory, which if I recall rightly has strongly toothed rays. Compare its structure with, for example, the pic of Aster lateriflorus linked below.

Thirdly, Aster is a large and diverse genus and not all species show the pattern of numerous narrow rays such as we see in well known species such as A. novae-angliae.

And finally, the stage of opening of the flowerhead affects the appearance of the disc florets. Often, the yellow anthers only become conspicuous as the head matures.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1057659}}
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knottyceltic
19 years ago
Forgetmenot...look here for information on your flowers:
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/houstoniacaer.html

Barb
Ontario, CANADA
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fairy_toadmother
19 years ago
crimson- whatever it is, it is a great photo- you should submit to a photo contest.
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crimson_penguin
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks, Tony; I'll call it an Aster then :) I don't have to be too specific on my site; but no one here seemed to have any idea at all of what it was. Btw, I tried to reply to Carol's email, but, one of our ISPs is blacklisted from the other; I'm not sure which, but anyway, it wouldn't send.

Fairy Toadmother: Thanks :) Although, I think if I were entering a photo contest I'd probably enter something else; maybe the picture linked below, just because it's more unique. However, I'm pretty limited in what I can do with my pictures, because most of them are only 1.9 MP, and even the new ones are only 3.1 MP.

Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed fluff
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Elaine_NJ6
19 years ago
The first picture is DEFINITELY not an aster. Don't know what it is, though.

The milkweed picture is fantastic--thanks.
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tiarella
19 years ago
Crimson is right-it's a bluet likes to grow at the edge of the road in an area that is moist. The leaves are narrow and it can spread by a small creeping stem. It is a native but can be a nusiance if it gets into a lawn. Depends on your point of view. Can disappear one year and appear the next in a different spot. Try looking it up on Hortiplex on the Gardenweb main page Houstonia is the latin name for bluets.
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crimson_penguin
Original Author
19 years ago
Well, I'm calling it an Aster until anyone has another idea they're sure about.
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lycopus
19 years ago
It's difficult to be sure on an ID with only the closeup of the flower to go by. One possibility is Solidago ptarmicoides, which is commonly called a white aster but is actually a goldenrod.
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Fledgeling_
19 years ago
its indeed true that the aster family has many individuals that do not conform to the imige we see when we think of aster, such as ironweed and wild quinece or whatever its called
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