The Georgia Aster, a rare beautiful wildflower that has not been found in Jefferson County, was discovered this past week by Mike Howell and Scott Linton near the town of Tarrant.

Found only in 16 counties in Alabama, Howell and Linton were not looking for the flower with shockingly purple petals and a white center. They were actually on a ridgeline on their way to a stream to look for darters near Five Mile Creek with a Yale University professor and students.

“Bam” a Georgia Aster!

At age 85, Howell, a retired Samford professor, who discovered nearly 60 years ago the endangered Watercress Darter in Jefferson County, wisely decided to not risk walking down the steep ridge to the stream.

Here is how he described finding the beautiful flower:

“I was just wandering around and “bam” there was a Georgia Aster!. I wasn’t looking for the Georgia Aster, but I knew it because I had just photographed it out at Oak Mountain State Park. My buddy Linton and I found a pretty good population out there, eight or 10 stands, in maybe a 100 meter area.”
Mike Howell

Added to Alabama Plant Atlas

As a result of the discovery, the Alabama Plant Atlas, an incredibly useful tool for plant-lovers, is currently verifying the discovery. Once that is done, Jefferson County can be identified as the 17th county where known stands of Georgia Asters exist.

Howell summed up the discovery nicely:

“It’s a beautiful wildflower. It has a deep purple color and white center but the one thing that makes it more beautiful is its rarity.”

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