Symphyotrichum ellioti Elliots Aster. In late fall, the abundant purple tufts of Elliot’s aster (Symphyotrichum elliottii) appear, almost like lavender cotton candy, adorning roadsides and natural areas. Occurring naturally in ditches, wet flatwoods, swamps, and marshes, it is a wonderful plant for attracting butterflies, bees, and other pollinators due to its many fragrant blooms.

Elliott’s aster is an herbaceous perennial wildflower that produces a coronet of blooms. Its compound flowers consist of many lavender ray florets surrounding yellow disk florets. Leaves are linear to lanceolate with finely serrated margins. They are alternately arranged.