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Asters are notoriously difficult to positively identify - there are dozens of species in our area,and they often crossbreed. There is nothing wrong with referring to them all as "those pretty blue asters" . Before now, I had never bothered to try pinning down a few local species, but I felt I owed you my best effort. After many hours of peering at specimens, and poring over several reference books, I am comfortable offering the following guide to blue/violet asters in the Asheville area:

"Asters" are members of the large genus Aster, part of the truly huge family of Asteraceae. (The family Asteraceae covers everything from asters to yarrow, with dandelions, thistles, ironweed, blazing stars, goldenrods, daisies, sunflowers, rosinweed, coneflowers, beggar-ticks, even ragweed, in between.)

Around Asheville, you are most likely to see two blue/violet true Asters: the above Late Purple Aster, and the Heart-Leaved Aster (see below).  The Late Purple Aster blooms mostly from September through October, and you are most likely to find it along sunny roadsides or in fields. The flower heads are about 1" across and contain roughly 15 "petals" (technically they are called ray flowers). The color is a deep violet and the central "disc" flowers are usually a bright yellow. If you look at these flowers near dusk, the brightly contrasting discs appear to glow in the dim light. The stems are sparsely hairy, and the leaves are oblong, toothless and clasp the stem. Surrounding the outside base of each flower are many tiny green bracts (leaflike structures) with spreading tips.

There are three very similar species - the New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae), Curtis' Aster (Aster curtisii, possibly only a mountain variant of the more coastal New York Aster) and Purple-Stemmed Aster (Aster puniceus).  The New England Aster is nearly identical to Late Purple but the flowers will have many more rays - at least 40. The Curtis Aster (in the mountains) and/or New York Aster (along the coast and in the piedmont) have smooth stems, longer lance-shaped leaves that are sessile on the stem but do not clasp it. The Purple-Stemmed Aster is nearly identical to the Late Purple, but usually has coarsely hairy purplish stems, and toothed leaves.

The Heart-Leaved Aster has many more, smaller flowers, as well as distinct heart-shaped leaves. Please follow the link for more details.

Finally, there is Chickory (Cichorium intybus, follow the link for more info). Though a member of the Aster Family, it is not in the same genus as the true Asters above. It is our only representative member of the genus Cichorium. Chickory is an alien that grows abundantly along our lowland roadsides and fields, often blooming from midsummer to hard frost.