Description: Most of the Michaelmas daisies grown in gardens belong to this group, which comprises forms of A. novi-belgii proper and various hybrids with other species. They are known to occur in the wild as naturalized aliens, or as casuals, in a variety of lowland sites around Northern Ireland. They have been established on the shores of north-eastern corner of Lough Neagh for many decades, and this population is probably at least partly composed of Aster laevis x A. novi-belgii (A. x versicolor). Many records at other sites probably refer to the hybrid A. lanceolatus x A. novi-belgii (A. x salignus). The species are of North American origin: the only native Irish Aster is the maritime species A. tripolium.

All names: Aster novi-belgii L.; Asre longifollius Lam.; Aster longifolius Lam.

Distribution Map from NBN: Aster novi-belgii at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Aster novi-belgii at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.