Virginia ecotype
- Duration: Perennial
- Habit: Upright, bushy, multi-stemmed herbaceous perennial; often colony forming in suitable habitat
- Size: Typically up to 2 feet tall in flower, often shorter
- Flowering Time: August to October
- Bloom Color: Lavender-blue to pale pink-purple rays with yellow centers
- Habitat: Coastal plain pine savannas, roadsides, pine barrens, open woodlands
- Moisture: Dry to moist; tolerant of seasonal wetness
- Light: Full sun to light partial shade; blooms most heavily in open, sunny habitats
- Soils: Acidic, sandy, or sandy-loam soils; often found in nutrient-poor, fire-maintained ecosystems
- Uses: Pollinator gardens, low and dry native meadow plantings, late-season nectar support for bees and butterflies
Eurybia compacta (Slender aster)
Eurybia compacta is known as the slender aster, a tight, diminutive fall blooming native perennial of open woodland savannas, bogs, and dry sandy soils of pine barrens in the Atlantic coastal plain. Due to a loss of viable habitat and fire suppression, this species is becoming relegated to mown country roadsides where it may be more commonly seen.
Slender aster tolerates a range of conditions from dry to moist, sandy to loamy soils. It rarely attains 2 feet in height, and unlike most other Eurybia (wood asters) it is clumping rather than rhizomatous. It will seed itself, if there is room and lower competition, to form an attractive and unimposing colony.
Clusters of flowers from late summer to mid fall are colored a striking pale blue-violet to rose-purple, with yellow centers focused on the ends of its woody stems. The blooms attract a range of pollinators, including specialist bees.
This petite aster is becoming infrequent in its native range, and is rarely if ever found in cultivation.