I found a beautiful wildflower growing on the gravel. About 1ft tall with yellow flowers in Sept to Oct. Seed head is about 1 inch in diameter. Google the image and it said maryland golden aster, which is not supposed to be found in Missouri. Does any eastern coast permie recognize this plant? It is probably the last aster/sunflower I have seen blooming around and I am going to plant some seeds.
Well, as you say, it's outside the range of Maryland golden aster (Chrysopsis mariana). Also the leaves seem pretty narrow, and Maryland golden aster likes very moist soil, so unlikely to be growing in gravel. I think more likely this is prairie golden aster (Heterotheca camporum, formerly Chrysopsis camporum), though it could be another relative of these.
One thing to note, the plant can get quite a bit taller - probably not an issue but thought I should mention it in case it affects where you want it to grow. The seeds need cold stratification, so they can be sown now, or stored and then stratified in your fridge for a couple months before sowing in the spring. Helping wildflower seeds find hospitable ground is always a worthwhile endeavor and I think you found a very pretty one.
Heterotheca villosa var. ballardii (Rydb.) Semple - northern Great Plains in US and Canada
Heterotheca villosa var. depressa (Rydb.) Semple - Wyoming
Heterotheca villosa var. foliosa (Nutt.) V.L.Harms - Rockies, Black Hills, northern Cascades, etc.
Heterotheca villosa var. minor (Hook.) Semple - Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, etc.
Heterotheca villosa var. nana (A.Gray) Semple - Rockies + other mountains from South Dakota to Arizona
Heterotheca villosa var. pedunculata (Greene) V.L.Harms ex Semple - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah
Heterotheca villosa var. scabra (Eastw.) Semple - Mexico, southwestern USA
Heterotheca villosa var. sierrablancensis Semple - New Mexico
Heterotheca villosa var. villosa - northern Great Plains, Columbia Plateau, etc.
Thanks for the replies, hairy goldenaster it is.
Online pictures seem to have taller plants, but this one is ground hugging. I guess it doesn't reach full size growing outside the railing of an overpass. Tough little plant.
I had also looked at H. villosa (and H. subaxillaris), but did not think this was H. villosa as the flowers seem proportionately too large, the form not branched enough, but most importantly, the stem and leaves do not seem hairy enough. H. camporum is hairy/rough, but H. villosa is hairy to the point that the leaves appear silvery or frosted, at least this is true of var. villosa. In these photos, the leaves look dark green (and fairly big and flat, rather than folded/curled). Are there other varieties present in Missouri? Admittedly the growing conditions are right for it. What characteristics made you settle on villosa rather than another species? It's hard to be confident in an ID with out clearer / more detailed photos.
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![[20211007_145116.jpg]](/t/170002/a/160990/20211007_145116.jpg "Filename: 20211007_145116.jpg
Description: Flowering in oct")
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Description: Seed heads as of today Nov 7")
