Symphyotrichum subulatum (Michx.) G.L. Nesom

vernacular eastern annual saltmarsh aster — species · Asteraceae

USDA: SYSU5
GBIF: 3094253
Rank: species

eastern annual saltmarsh aster (Symphyotrichum subulatum) — Platephotograph · Eric DuranCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Asteraceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus: Symphyotrichum

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: High
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: Medium
CaCO₃: Low
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -3 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 190 min.
Precipitation: 16–50 in/yr
pH range: 5.6–7
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Mature height: 3 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Blue
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Summer
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 700,000
Propagation: seed, bare root

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SYSU5 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3094253 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z