Anyone who is at all familiar with plants or gardening is probably familiar with the aster family, Asteraceae. It’s a large family with lots of species spread through most of the world, so you may be asking why the climbing aster (Ampelaster carolinianus) is stated to be unique in tonight’s headline. It’s actually unique among the asters for several reasons. First, it is the only aster that has its own genus that contains no other members. It’s also the only aster that occurs as a vine instead of being an herb or shrub. It is well known for it’s habit of climbing on other plants or over fences or trellises in gardens and can reach heights of six to over twelve feet. The climbing aster, although not entirely unique, has a very limited native range. It is only found as natives in the southeastern United States in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It is, however, grown in other areas for use as an ornamental vine.

The climbing aster is a perennial that blooms in the late summer and through the fall, usually until the first frost occurs. Like most asters, the flowers consist of both a ray floret with smaller central disc florets. They are very attractive to fall pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. They are usually found on the coastal plains, but sometimes can also found in wet areas around lakes, ponds, slow flowing rivers, and swamps. They can even occasionally be found in open, dry, sandy regions. They can tolerate some flooding, but generally prefer well drained soils. They will grow in almost any type of soil and in any pH, and are quite disease resistant. They do require direct sunlight a good part of the day, which is why they are usually near the edges of woods and swamps.

The vines in these photos were found growing along the shores of Lake Wauberg in the Payne’s Prairie State Park. There were several growing in the swampy wetlands along one side of the lake that could only be reached via a boardwalk. There were also several of them growing in the moist, sandy area around the boat ramp where I shared the sunset with a great blue heron. Not only are the flowers very attractive, but they also have a nice fragrance that further helped to make that sunset so enjoyable.