General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous-rooted, usually short rhizome or woody stem-base; stems erect, branched above, glabrous or nearly so, 0.4-1.2 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves stalked and soon deciduous; stem leaves lanceolate to broadly lanceolate or egg-shaped, unstalked and usually clasping, 8-18 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, entire or shallowly toothed, glabrous or nearly so and tending to be glaucous.

Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, few to many in an open, round-topped inflorescence; involucres 5-7 mm tall; involucral bracts graduated, linear or often awl-shaped, sharply pointed with elongate green tips, margins fringed with small hairs; ray flowers 15-30, blue or purple, 6-10 mm long; disk flowers yellow.

Fruits:
Achenes 4-5 nerved, glabrous; pappus usually reddish.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aster geyeri (A. Gray) Howell
Aster laevis subsp. geyeri
Aster laevis var. geyeri A. Gray
Aster laevis var. guadalupensis A.G. Jones
Aster pickettianus Suksd.