The small blooms are born on the end of these many branches, and are a joy. Instead of mowing them down, we encouraged them to grow, and were rewarded with a fantastic show in the fall, right when little else is blooming. Flowers are in the heads of the many upper branches, and the area under the trees is a mass of white and lavender shadings at the beginning of the brown time. These are among the last to end their bloom, lasting often till the first freeze. Along the highways are a pair of asters, one reaching the end of its blooming cycle, the other just beginning.
Stems are very hairy, with a great amount of branching toward the top of the plant.
The flowers themselves are around an inch in diameter, with many yellow rays emanating from the central disc flower. They usually grow in sandy, waste lands. This fall bloomer can reach heights of 5-6 feet, and here in the last days of August it seems to have suddenly appeared along the roadways, its blooms making it stand out where before it seemed there was nothing. Presently they are gracing the roadways in magnificent stands, towering above anything else. Thankfully the Dept. of Transportation cannot mow down all the flowers, and back from the roads many of these beauties still stand.