A perennial typically up to 2 m tall and 1.2 m across. Scabrous stems; the basal leaves lanceolate-ovate and deeply serrated, running down into winged petioles, the stem leaves narrower. Five to eight heads per inflorescence, each large in proportion; imbricate bracts tipped purplish; large blue-violet rays and yellow discs. The root is the traditional cough remedy ziwan.
Habitat
Hill grassland, forest edge, river banks and wet meadows in sun; also grown in garden borders, one of the latest-flowering perennials of autumn.
Distribution
Native to East Asia from southern Siberia through China to Japan; common in north-east, northern, north-west and central China and throughout Japan (shion); introduced to Germany and several eastern US states. Absent from Singapore.
Season and behaviour
September to November, peaking in October, almost the last flower of the autumn fields, alongside the red leaves.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
A tall plant topped with clusters of blue-violet suits an upward view against autumn blue sky; blue-violet is truest under cloud. A head-on macro for the contrast of rays and yellow disc, against red leaves or a dark background. Frosty mornings put ice crystals on the flowers.
Photographic styles
Tall purple flowers under an autumn sky; macro of blue-violet with a yellow eye.
Similar species
Aster ageratoides (small white or pale purple heads, more widespread); New York aster (cultivated, low, dense flowers); wild chrysanthemum (yellow).
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons; its licence and author are under it.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
