Flower:

Flowers are 1 to 1¼ inches across, 15 to 25 purple petals (ray flowers) and creamy yellow center disk flowers that turn dull reddish brown with age. The flowers are at the end of wiry stems that branch out in the upper part of the plant.

The bracts are wide, about ¼-inch long with pointed tips and fold back away from the flower base.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are generally elliptical in shape and densely covered with fine hairs that give them a silky feel and silvery color, and is where the plant gets its common names. Leaves in the upper part of the plant point upwards, are ½ to 1¼ inches long and up to ½ inch wide with pointed tips and no leaf stem.

The lower leaves are much longer and drop off the plant early, leaving the stems bare, while the upper leaves persist through the season. The main and branching stems are wiry and delicate, covered in short flattened hairs and may initially be green but are usually brown.

Fruit:

Fruit is a brown seed with a tuft of light brown hair to carry it off in the wind. The seed head is ½ to ¾ inch across.

Notes:

Silky Aster probably most closely resembles Aromatic Aster (S. oblongifolium), but the latter has rough leaves, narrow flower bracts, and a bright yellow center disk. Silky Aster starts sprouting up around May; it's characterized by a clump of narrow leaves densely convered in soft hairs.