Smooth Aster

Symphyotrichum laeve

Pollinator Value

🐛 Larval Host: Agnorisma badinodis, Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria
S13+S15 2 verified Eastern NA
🐝 Specialist Bee Host: Andrena asteris, Andrena hirticincta, Andrena nubecula, Andrena placata, Andrena simplex, Colletes compactus, Colletes simulans, Melissodes druriellus
S17 genus-level Symphyotrichum specialists with Eastern NA ranges including ON/QC states

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ❌ Outaouais ❌ Ottawa ❌ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5) and nationally secure in Canada (N5). Common and secure in Ontario (S5). Not considered native to Quebec (SNA), where occurrences appear to be naturalized introductions. Not listed under SARA or assessed by COSEWIC.
S22 G5, N5, S5 ON, SNA QC; S26 not SARA listed
Rarity Ranks: QC SNA – Not Applicable, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Smooth aster inhabits dry open forests (oak, aspen, jack pine), sandy plains, stabilized dunes, prairies, meadows, bluffs, and roadsides. It favours well-drained, sandy to loamy soils in full sun. In Ontario it is common and secure (S5), occurring widely across the Mixed Wood Shield and Great Lakes ecoregions. In Quebec its rank is SNA (Not Applicable), with only scattered naturalized occurrences.
S7 dry open forests, sandy plains; S4 fields, open woods, roadsides; S22 S5 ON, SNA QC

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Insectary Plant, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: spines? (supporting signal only)] | Insectary Plant: S64 NPPBI 'beneficial insects' flag] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [HIGH]: S64 Xerces listed (source-classified)]

Category: Herbal Steam, Stimulant
S28 Meskwaki Drug categories
Notes: The Meskwaki used the entire plant to produce smoke in sweatbaths (herbal steam). They also forced the smoke into the nostrils of unconscious patients as a stimulant to revive them.
S28 Meskwaki Drug uses: Herbal Steam and Stimulant

✅ Edible

Foraging Notes: The Keres (Western Pueblo) mixed the flowers with parched corn and ate them. This represents a highly specific ethnobotanical use rather than a widely practiced food source.
S28 Keres Western Food use