Eurybia macrophylla

Sizes available: #1 (Trade Gallon)

Basics: zones 3-7, 24-48" x 1-3', sun to part shade, light purple blooms in late summer to early fall over large heart-shaped leaves, very adaptable to dry woodland

Common names: Big Leaf Aster, Large-leaf Wood-aster

Family: Asteraceae

Origin/Distribution: Quebec to Minnesota and south to northern Georgia and Tennessee, native to Maine

Habitat: Thickets, clearings, open woods, woods edge

More: This woodland aster is a strong grower and will spread by seed and rhizome. I have it growing under mature oaks in morning sun and then high, light shade later in the day and it is keeping up with the variegated Solomon's Seal. This is an excellent ground cover in dappled shade and is also effective for holding banks and slopes. The flowers are pretty little daisies, but can be sparse, and E. macrophylla is usually grown in an ornamental garden for its large leaves. These leaves diminish and disappear after the stems flower in the fall. However, all of those rhizomes are holding the ground and ready to flush attractive new growth, leafing out quickly in the spring. It is one of the larval hosts for the Pearl Crescent, Phyciodes tharos, and Northern Crescent, Phyciodes cocyta and both of these butterflies are native to Maine. 

Nursery: Van Berkum

Image credits: David Lage via Creative Commons through North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox