Doellingeria umbellata - Flat-topped White Aster

Sizes available: #1 (Trade gallon)

Basics: zones 4-8, quite variable in height, up to 60" x 12-24", sun to light shade, a cream-white bloom in mid-late summer, wet to moist, but well drained, slightly acid, but adaptable as to soil type. I suspect this plant is more drought tolerant than most listings indicate.

Synonyms: Aster umbellatus

Common names: Flat-topped White Aster, Parasol White-top, Tall White Aster

Family: Asteraceae

Origin/Distribution: Alberta to Newfoundland and the eastern north-central U.S. from Nebraska and the Dakotas east to Maine and south to Michigan, Georgia, the Florida panhandle, and Louisiana. These plants are grown from seed collected in New England. D. umbellata is native to Maine.

Habitat: Found in damp fields, wood's edge, wet margins, moist thickets, ditches, low spots, but I have had it appear in relatively dry and shady places in Brooks.

More: This is one of our earliest blooming Asters. It is very pretty and will spread if happy. Keeping it on the dry side may curtail this tendency. It provides nectar and pollen for wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, and bees. It is a larval host for the Pearl Crescent, Phycoides tharos, and the Harris's Checkerspot, Chlosyne harrisii, both native to Maine. Has been used medicinally. I think it might be a good wildflower bouquet ingredient. 

Source: Van Berkum

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons