Savannah Aster
Purple love grass at Sopchoppy Depot Park.
Savannah asters grow in wet pine savannahs in the panhandle.
Savannah asters (Symphyotrichum chapmanii) are wetland wildflowers barely noticed until fall. Then large showy purple flowers appear atop thin stems 1-3 feet tall. The eye-catching flowers have thin, bright lavender petals around yellow centers. The colorful flowers are spaced widely on each plant. Savannah asters grow in wet pine savannahs in the panhandle of Florida and three counties in southern Alabama. In recent decades, their natural habitat has been drained for residential and agricultural use and their populations have declined. Savannah asters are now rare in both states with fewer than 100 occurrences remaining. Also called Chapman’s aster and Savannah grassleaf aster, this wildflower is not in commercial cultivation. Savannah asters grown from seeds collected in the wild are blooming now at the pond edge in Sopchoppy Depot Park.