| Author | (Muhlenberg ex Willdenow) Nesom | |
| Distribution | Mountains only, at middle to high elevations.
Western MA to southern Ont. and MN, south to NC, TN, IL, IA. | |
| Abundance | Infrequent to fairly common, but quite local. Oddly lacking specimen records for heavily collected Buncombe and Madison counties, plus several others in the central Mountains. | |
| Habitat | Rich cove forests, montane deciduous-conifer forests, montane seepage bogs. Typically a forest interior species, or at least in moderate shade -- and usually in somewhat moist places. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late August-October. | |
| Identification | As its name suggests, the stem is crooked: angled one way, then the opposite, for several nodes. However, the best clue to identity is the leaf shape: ovate to narrowly ovate, taper-pointed, sharply toothed, and with a winged, tapered stalk that clasps around the stem. The inflorescence is somewhat elliptical in outline (or sometimes broader than long), with long, pale blue or lavender-blue rays and yellow disks. Wavyleaf Aster (S. undulatum) may appear similar, but its leaves are cordate (heart-shape sinus) at the junction of the blade and stalk (vs. tapered to the winged stalk). Also, involucral bracts of Wavyleaf Aster are acute or blunt (vs. acuminate). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | NOTE: The genus Aster was examined by G.L. Nesom (1994), who determined that it was composed of a number of discrete genera (a few of which were already split off by authors as Sericocarpus, Ionactis, etc.). The earliest available name for North American "Aster" is Symphyotrichum, a name regrettably long and hard to spell.
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| Other Common Name(s) | Crooked Aster | |
| State Rank | S3? [S3] | |
| Global Rank | G4G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FAC link |
| USACE-emp | FAC link |
