Perennials -
Aster
Aster
is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus
once contained nearly 600 species in Eurasia and North America,
but after morphologic and molecular research on the genus during
the 1990s, it was decided that the North American species are
better treated in a series of other genera. After this split there
are roughly 180 species within the genus, all but one being
confined to Eurasia. The name Aster comes from the Ancient
Greek word astron, meaning "star", arriving through the Latin word
astrum with the same meaning, referring to the shape of the flower
head. Many species and a variety of hybrids and varieties are
popular as garden plants because of their attractive and colourful
flowers. Aster species are used as food plants by the larvae of a
number of Lepidoptera species. Asters can grow in all
hardiness zones.
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