White Wood Aster
Eurybia divaricata
native
Other Name:
Common White Heart-leaved Aster
White Wood Aster is a native plant found in much of Virginia. It is one of the most common plants at Monticello, and it can be seen throughout the park. The White Wood Aster used to be in the genus Aster, but it has been reclassified after DNA analysis; the same is true for many other species of asters. The asters are in the largest plant family in the world, with close to 33,000 species in more than 1,900 genera. Botanists are still trying to sort out how all of the species are related to each other. A branch of botany called synantherology is devoted solely to the study of asters. The second largest plant family is the orchids, with 28,000 species.
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