heartleaf aster, Symphyotrichum cordifolium

The lowest leaves on heartleaf aster stems are indeed heart shaped. Lots of species of aster flowers look very much the same. The leaves can be very different. There seems to be a pattern of narrow leaves on field asters, and wide leaves on woodland asters. Heartleaf likes to hang around at edges and in openings. These leaves are somewhat intermediate, with wide leaves low on the stem, and much narrower ones above. The Ojibwa used aster root with other herbs to create a smoke that imitated deer spoor. Whether or not this helped with hunting, they were probably right to scoff at European efforts to find deer while using tobacco. Heatleaf aster grows in AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, BC, NB, MB, NS, ON, PE, and QC. Hillsdale Co MI, 9/14/11. Aster family, Asteraceae.