Nature Walk: Smooth Asters

Dry weather appears to dramatically alter the blooming times of many plants. Asters typically bloom in the fall, however, under normal conditions they still have green leaves. The reddish leaves on this smooth aster seem to indicate it has stopped producing chlorophyll. One assumes that it is getting energy from root reserves and will still produce a seed crop.

While you probably aren’t seeing too many flowers outdoors around Iowa this time of year, we hope finding this one on your morning nature walk brightens your day!

If you are interested in purchasing a print or requesting information on possible use for any of these photographs, please contact Carl at cpkurtz@netins.net.