Elegant Aster: Eucephalus elegans (Synonym: Aster perelegans)

A close-up of the flower head of elegant aster as seen along the first two miles of the Maxwell Lake Trail #1162, Eagle Cap Wilderness........August 3, 2016. This aster is found at this location on open slopes that are vernally moist but drying by mid summer.

Close-up images of the involucral bracts and upper stem leaves of elegant aster as seen along the first two miles of the Maxwell Lake Trail #1162, Eagle Cap Wilderness........August 3, 2016. Note the large, broad involucral bracts that are definitely imbricate (shingled), and which taper to a point at the upper end. Typically, this aster has involucral bracts which are purplish towards the tips, but these are from young plants which perhaps haven't developed the purple coloring yet. When viewed from a few feet away, the plants bear a resemblance to the Cascade aster (Eucephalus ledophyllus) with the numerous stem leaves and few to no basal leaves. Note also the whitish lower bract margins on the inner bracts.