Oclemena

Oclemena is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae. All species in the genus are native to eastern North America. The species were originally included in the genus Aster so they are often referred to simply as asters. Since their flower heads are nodding in bud, they are sometimes called nodding-asters.

==Description== Oclemena species are perennial, herbaceous plants that propagate via a swollen tuber at the tip of a slender, elongated rhizome. Stems are erect and unbranched, with dense long hairs. Stem leaves are sessile (or short-petiolate) and alternate. Leaf blades are sparsely dotted with short glandular hairs, each with a yellow to orange resin head. Leaf margins are either serrate (O. acuminata) or both entire and revolute. The inflorescence is either a single flower head (O. nemoralis) or a corymb of 2–46 flower heads on long, slender peduncles, nodding in bud (except O. reticulata). A flower head has 7–25 ray flowers, white or pink, and 14–35 disc flowers, pale or pinkish yellow, reddening at maturity. The chromosome base number is x=9.