Bigleaf Aster
Eurybia macrophylla
Found in moist to dryish forests, in NC mostly at moderate to high elevations, particularly in red oak forests on ridgetops. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 2.5–4 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 40 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eurybia
- Phyciodes cocytaNorthern Crescent, Crescentspot
- Platypolia ancepsGray-Dusted Sallow
- Schinia septentrionalisNorthern Flower Moth
- Astrotischeria astericola
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
54BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Aster
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
27Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Eurybia
- Andrena asteris
- Andrena braccata
- Andrena canadensis
- Andrena chromotricha
- Andrena fulvipennis
- Andrena hirticincta
- Andrena nubecula
- Andrena placata
- Andrena simplex
- Ashmeadiella bucconis
Show all 27
- Colletes americanus
- Colletes compactus
- Colletes speculiferus
- Dianthidium curvatum
- Melissodes denticulatus
- Melissodes dentiventris
- Melissodes druriellus
- Melissodes illatus
- Melissodes niveus
- Melissodes subillatus
- Melissodes trinodis
- Melissodes wheeleri
- Paranthidium jugatorium
- Perdita octomaculata
- Protandrena andrenoides
- Protandrena citripes
- Protandrena compositarum
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Aster
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow, purple or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Dark green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late July to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Dark green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2.5–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Aster macrophyllus; Bigleaf Wood Aster; aster
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications