About Symphyotrichum retroflexum (DC.) G.L.Nesom
Symphyotrichum retroflexum, previously classified as Aster retroflexus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, and is commonly known as the rigid whitetop aster. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that can reach heights between 40 and 100 centimeters, or 16 to 39 inches. The flowers of this species have blue to purple ray florets, and disk florets that start cream to pale yellow before becoming pinkish. This plant is only found naturally in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, where it grows in wooded areas at elevations between 400 and 1,500 meters, or 1,300 to 4,900 feet. As of September 2021, NatureServe has classified Symphyotrichum retroflexum as Apparently Secure (G4). Its last review by NatureServe was in 1994, and the species is currently marked as needing review. An introduced population of S. retroflexum exists in southeast China.
