Recently, I read the book “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer and in the book the author talks about her experience of combining her indigenous and scientific knowledge as a University professor. In one of the beginning chapters she talks about the beauty of aster and goldenrod when they grow beside each other and it made me think of the relationship between plant species differently. In Victoria, we have quite a bit of aster that is currently in season, so I was curious what the local indigenous groups relationship is to it.

Aster is a perennial wildflower that can grow up to 50cm tall. The have long oval shaped leaves which wrap around the reddish/brown stems at their base. They have thin petals and are primarily light purple with a golden yellow centre. Aster grows all over North America, primarily in meadows and open forest areas. They flower in the summer/fall months and the flowers ripen into seeds that get carried in the wind for dispersal.

There is not a lot of information on Indigenous uses, however the interior indigenous groups used this plant for stomach remedies and it has been used to wash sores on horses backs.