First of all, the name ?fleabane? and ?aster? would be both unfamiliar to both of you. Well, it was unfamiliar to me just a few weeks ago. Fleabanes and asters are both types of daisies.  In fact, we cannot easily distinguish the difference between a fleabane and an aster because they look pretty much the same. Their flowers are all daisies of course, and they are both tall, growing as much as 100cm. However, the actually have stark differences including their looks.

            Asters (Aster yomena) have their origins in North and South America. They have stems that are covered with thick, white furs. On the other hand, fleabanes or erigerons (Erigeron annuus) have stems that are red when young, but eventually turn violet as they grow. The biggest difference between asters and fleabanes are their life cycles. Asters flower during the summer, mostly from July to August, and they bear fruit from October to November. However, fleabanes flower earlier than asters in the spring. Additionally, we can see their fruits in the summer.

             The problem is that while fleabanes are native to Korean soil, asters are not just as mentioned above. Asters were introduced to Korea a few decades ago, and it has spread widely since then. We can see asters quite easily almost everywhere we go. The serious thing is that Asters have a stronger hold on life than fleabanes, just like weeds. Additionally, Asters absorb all the nutrients from the soil they grow on. BBOth of the above factors make it impossible for fleabanes to grow near them. Asters have spread to an extent which it outnumbers the fleabanes, the native species.

             So a few weeks ago, I participated in a campaign to eradicate the asters at Lake Park, a park near my home. It was quite difficult to differentiate asters and fleabanes at first, but I soon learned a very easy way to distinguish them. The ones with flowers blooming were asters, as it was July. Therefore, I just had to pick out the ones with flowers. It was a tenacious job, with the asters roots so strong, reaching almost 20cm into the soil. Yet after 2 hours or so, our group got the work done, with about 20kg of asters in our hands.