Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Bigleaf Aster - Eurybia macrophylla   (L.) Cassini
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Eurybia with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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Author(L.) Cassini
DistributionMountains and uppermost Piedmont, at middle to high elevations.

N.B. to MN, south to northeastern GA, TN, and IN.
AbundanceFairly common to common in Mountains, but scarce at lower elevations. Forms colonial patches via horizontal rhizomes.
HabitatMesic to dry northern hardwoods, conifer-hardwoods, and spruce-fir forests. Frequently may be found in openings and trailsides. Weakley (2018) says it occurs in NC "particularly in red oak forests on ridgetops".
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late July-Septemebr.
IdentificationThe genus Eurybia has been split from Aster (now Symphyotrichum). Variation among species of each genus requires several steps in a key to split members of the two genera apart (see genus key in Weakley 2018).

Bigleaf Aster features large basal leaves (up to a foot long and 7 inches wide), with heart-shaped bases. Leaves become much smaller up the stem, which reaches 2-3 feet tall. Heads are large, with white rays and yellow disks (which fade to reddish brown). Hardly to be confused with any other aster.
Taxonomic CommentsFormerly known as Aster macrophyllus.

Other Common Name(s)Largeleaf Aster, Bigleaf Wood-aster
State RankS4
Global RankG5
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B.A. SorrieSame data; basal leaf. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
B.A. SorrieCentral NH, northern hardwood-conifer, Aug 2014. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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