Small White Aster Traditional Cache

Small White Asters are outside the Game Farm fence. The Game Warden(?) stopped while I put out the cache. He was reassured about what I was doing and gave permission for the cache. A P&G, but be careful of where you park. A slight rise in the road near GZ hinders visibility.

Small White Asters, Symphyotrichum, various species. 

Asteraceae, the daisy, sunflower, or composite family.

Description:

Plant: Erect, branching stems, 1'-4' high, with loose terminal clusters of small, white, daisy-like flower heads. Perennial. 

Flowers: Small, white flower heads, generally 1/2" or less, generally with 15-35 rays, and yellow centers that turn dark with age in some species. 

Leaves: Alternate, narrowly ovate to lanceolate-linear, margins smooth to sparsely toothed, surfaces smooth to hairy, sessile in most species. Leaves on flower stems my be very small, bract like; lower leaves 2"-4" or more. 

Fruit: A globular head of achenes with silky white hairs 

Blooming: August-November 

Habitat: Fields, waste areas, clearings.  

Comments: There is a group of several small, white asters in our area that are difficult to distinguish, that are quite variable, and that probably hybridize to some extent. There does not seem to be any strong botanical consensus on the species breakdown either, though modern tendency has been to reduce the number of recognized species. In a given area, several different-looking forms can generally be found, varying in the size and shape of the involucral bracts, the hairiness of stems and leaves, the size and placement of leaves etc. Conditions can make a large difference. A plant growing in a dry location in full sun may have leaves very different from the same plant growing in a shadier, moister location. These species were formerly placed in the genus Aster, but have been moved to the new genus Symphyotrichum on the basis of recent genetic studies.

My old Peterson Guide to Wildflowers call these Small White Aster, (Aster vimineus). Now the accepted name seems to be Small White Aster,  (Symphyotrichum racemosum).

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle; push hard to open and close. Please BYOP and put things back as you found it, with the rubber band around the log and the plastic bag sealed.