Ruth's Golden Aster
This endangered perennial grows in cracks and scoured rocky margins along short reaches of the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers, nowhere else on Earth.
Artwork inspired by Minnie Evans
This endangered perennial grows in cracks and scoured rocky margins along short reaches of the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers, nowhere else on Earth. Sunny phyllite rock crevices near rivers, maintained by natural scour and fluctuating water. Flood disturbance removes competitors, yet altered flow, recreation, and invasive plants can damage the same narrow habitat.
Blooms primarily August through September; plants remain rooted in exposed river rock year-round. View from legal overlooks or durable surfaces; never scramble through marked populations or pick stems. For Ruth's Golden Aster, the cited federal or Tennessee wildlife source documents Tennessee as the endemic or core primary range.
- Primary range
- Tennessee
- Field mark
- silvery narrow leaves
- Habitat cue
- scoured river rock
Quick guide
- Recognition
- Bright yellow daisy-like flowers above narrow silvery-green leaves covered with fine hairs.
- Where it belongs
- Sunny phyllite rock crevices near rivers, maintained by natural scour and fluctuating water.
Learn the species by reading its habitat
- Identification
- Bright yellow daisy-like flowers above narrow silvery-green leaves covered with fine hairs.
- Habitat
- Sunny phyllite rock crevices near rivers, maintained by natural scour and fluctuating water.
- Ecology
- Flood disturbance removes competitors, yet altered flow, recreation, and invasive plants can damage the same narrow habitat.
- Observe responsibly
- View from legal overlooks or durable surfaces; never scramble through marked populations or pick stems.
Good to know
View from legal overlooks or durable surfaces; never scramble through marked populations or pick stems. This card is for habitat-aware learning, not a promise of a sighting.
Notice these
- silvery narrow leaves
- scoured river rock
- late-summer bloom