aka hairy aster, awl aster; Symphyotrichum pilosum; Asteraceae (aster family)

So far this year I’ve found 19 different species of aster (Symphyotrichum or Eurybia). I haven’t managed to identify them all, but they are clearly different from each other. This one, though, I’m pretty sure of.

Note the characteristically hairy stem in the photo to the right.

Frost aster is another native found in eastern North America (from Texas through Quebec). It grows up to three feet tall in full sun and moist to dry conditions.  I found this specimen growing out of the cracks along one of my favorite rocky bluffs upstream of Carderock.