This is a summation of the photos needed for photographing an aster plant for the best identification. The information is from a post on the Field Botanists of Ontario Facebook Group written by iNaturalist wdvanhem.

1. The whole plant and a bit of surrounding environment
2. The entire inflorescence (the blooming area)
3. Close-up of a group of the flower heads showing ray length and color, disk color, etc.
4. Close-up of involucres showing phyllaries, bracts, etc. (THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE FOR ASTER ID)
5. Cauline (stem) leaf with stalk, if it has one, and the node where the leaf attaches to the stem
6. Close-up of upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) leaf surfaces
7. Close-up of the stem showing color, hairiness (or hairlessness), smoothness or grooved features, etc.
8. Base of the plant to show basal leaves (if any, as sometimes after an aster is flowering, these have died, but the photo is good regardless)

Dropping this here for reference along with a link to an observation by wdvanhem that has all of these photos but the first. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60836960

Elizabeth

Posted on October 25, 2022 01:07 PM by elizabeth1067