- Type
- Leafy Greens
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Spring·Fall
- Sowing
- Transplant
Tatarian Aster
Aster tataricus
Saponins, flavonoids · a tall aster picked young for greens
Tatarian aster is a perennial in the daisy family that reaches one to two metres. Its young spring shoots, taken while still flat to the ground, are blanched and eaten as a namul green, and by late summer the stems carry masses of pale violet flowers. It looks well enough in a border that most people now meet it as a flower rather than as a vegetable. The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as 紫菀, giving it a warm nature — though some sources call it neutral — a bitter and pungent taste, and no toxicity. The same entry describes a plant of open fields that spreads flat over the ground in early spring, with leaves set three or four in a row and very fine, soft roots, and notes that the roots are lifted in the second or third lunar month and dried in shade, the purple and supple ones being preferred.
Year-Round Calendar
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Where It Grows
- Main producer The largest harvests come from around Anguo in Hebei and Bozhou in Anhui, where it is grown in quantity as a field crop.
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Wild population
It grows wild in mountains and fields across the country, and is also cultivated for namul in the mountain areas of Gangwon and North Gyeongsang. Harvest April, May
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- Wild population It is found in meadows and on mountain foothills from Honshu northward.
- Wild population It is distributed across southern Siberia and the Russian Far East.
- Wild population It is found in the eastern grasslands and along rivers.
Its native range is the temperate belt of East Asia, spanning the Korean Peninsula, northern China, Japan, and Siberia. Picking the spring shoots for namul (Korean seasoned wild greens) is widespread in Korea, while large-scale field cultivation happens in China, so the main producing areas differ depending on the use.
- Optimum
- 15~25℃
- Range
- 0~30℃
- Hardiness
- Hardy
This is a plant of meadows and mountain foothills in the northern temperate zone, where summers stay cool. It overwinters through its roots — overwintering means surviving the cold season in place — and can tolerate temperatures even below −20℃, but under blazing midsummer sun and in dry ground its leaves begin to wither from the edges inward.
Harvested 2–3 years after planting. If you plant a clump in spring, proper shoot picking begins the following year. The month of planting and the month of first harvest do not fall in the same year. After three or four years the center of the clump hollows out, so it is divided and replanted.
In Korea Nationwide
It grows wild in sunny spots in mountains and fields nationwide. Cultivation for namul is concentrated in the mountain districts of Gangwon and North Gyeongsang.
How to grow
- Light
- A sunny spot suits it best, but it grows in part shade. Deep shade only stretches the stems until they fall
- Soil and depth
- Free-draining ground that never dries out completely. Leaf mould worked in gives thicker spring shoots
- Spacing
- 40 to 50cm between plants. The clumps widen year on year, so be generous from the start
- Watering
- A long summer drought browns the leaf margins first. Water thoroughly in the morning once the surface dries
- Feeding
- A handful of compost around each clump in early spring, before the shoots rise. Clumps cut for greens get a second dose after harvest
- Harvest
- Cut shoots at the base in April and May, once they reach 15 to 20cm and before the leaves have fully opened. Take about half the shoots from any clump and leave the rest, or next year's growth comes up thin. Flowers open from July to October by the solar calendar, and roots are lifted in late autumn after the leaves die back
What makes the difference. Cutting the stems back by half in late May or early June keeps the plant shorter, adds side branches and stops it falling over. It also flowers more densely
Why this one is harder. After three or four years the centre of the clump hollows out and the shoots thin. Lift the clump in early spring or late autumn, split it into three or four pieces and replant to bring it back
Common problems
- Aphids You will see Colonies on new spring shoot tips and flower stems, turning sticky What to do Wash off with a jet of water. Use no spray on shoots destined for the kitchen; if it is bad, sacrifice those shoots
- Spider mites You will see Leaves fade to a dull white in midsummer with rough undersides What to do Mist the leaf undersides to raise humidity and thin the clump to open an air path
- Powdery mildew You will see White floury patches spreading over the upper leaf surfaces after the rainy season What to do Pick off affected leaves and thin the clump. Water the soil rather than pouring over the foliage
This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.
Health Benefits
What the Donguibogam records — nature, taste and when the root is lifted. The Donguibogam lists the plant in the Herb section as 紫菀. It records a warm nature, noting that some call it neutral, with a bitter and pungent taste and no toxicity. It describes a plant of open fields that spreads flat over the ground in early spring, with leaves set three or four in a row, yellow, purple and white flowers in the fifth and sixth lunar months, white hairs, and very fine, soft roots. The root, it notes, is lifted in the second or third lunar month and dried in shade, the purple and supple ones being preferred. This is a historical medical record and differs from modern medical judgment.
What the record says about the names. The same entry notes that the plant also goes by the name 返魂草. It further sets down that there is a 白菀, which is to say 女菀, listing the names side by side. This is a record about nomenclature.
Compositional reports from the root. Triterpene and saponin compounds, shionone among them, have been isolated and reported from the root. The same reports note that root and above-ground composition differ from one another. These are compositional analyses and have nothing to do with preventing or treating disease.
Nutrition
- Saponins (astersaponins) (isolated and reported from the root) — glycosides reported from roots in the daisy family
- Shionone (reported as a characteristic root constituent) — a triterpene compound
- Flavonoids and phenolic acids (reported from leaves and flowers) — polyphenols common across the daisy family
- Dietary fibre (measured on blanched young shoots) — the fibrous bite characteristic of mountain greens
Preparing the young shoots Raw shoots are bitter and grassy, and are not eaten as they come. Blanch for two to three minutes in salted boiling water, rinse in cold water and leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Changing the water once draws out more of the bitterness. Squeeze dry before dressing or stir-frying; anything left over can be dried and kept as muknamul.
Root and shoot are different things What the Donguibogam describes is the root, 紫菀, while what a garden supplies is the young spring shoot. Compositional reports are likewise split between root and above-ground parts, so figures from one cannot be carried across to the other. The root circulates as a herbal-medicine material and is not something to decoct at home on your own initiative. This entry is written about the young shoots eaten as a green.
Keeping it as muknamul Blanched and dried, the shoots keep through winter as muknamul. Soak the dried greens for about a day, then boil them again before use. Hang them somewhere with both sun and moving air so mould does not take hold while they dry.
Pairings
○ Perilla oil and doenjang — Blanched shoots are stir-fried in perilla oil or dressed with doenjang. Both the oil and the paste settle whatever bitterness is left. Keep the garlic light or it buries the flavour of the green.
○ Rice and bibimbap — Dried as muknamul, this becomes a winter bibimbap component. Soak, boil, stir-fry and lay it out alongside the other greens. A light hand with seasoning suits it better.
○ Planting companions in a border — Put the tall species at the back of a border and the low Korean starwort at the front, and the flowering runs right through autumn. Bees and butterflies work it heavily, which helps pollination on nearby fruiting vegetables. Clumps widen every year, so allow room from the start.
△ Do not forage it — spring shoots are easy to mistake — This entry assumes plants raised from bought seed or seedlings. Young shoots lying flat in early spring resemble a good many other daisy-family plants and cannot reliably be told apart by leaf alone; the two most often confused with it, Korean starwort and ssukbujaengi, happen both to be edible. The real hazard is that spring hillsides also carry poisonous plants that pass for greens — marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, with its thick glossy leaves near water, is the standard example. Pick only what you can name with certainty, and grow it yourself if you cannot.
△ Never eaten raw — The young shoots must always be blanched. Unblanched leaves are bitter and strongly grassy and can upset the stomach. Do not skip the cold-water soak that follows the blanching.
△ Ornamental and florist stock — Clumps bought from a flower market or as landscaping stock were grown to be looked at, and there is no telling what was sprayed on them. If you mean to eat the shoots, buy seedlings raised for food instead. Where a plant has a spray history in its first year, leave that year's shoots alone.
Varieties
- Tatarian aster (gaemichwi) (seedling) — The base species. Tallest at one to two metres, with broad leaves. This is the one harvested for greens
- Korean starwort (beolgaemichwi) (seedling) — Endemic to Korea. Shorter at 50 to 60cm with narrow, elongated leaves. Widely planted in borders and along roads
- Jom-gaemichwi (seedling) — Smaller than the base species with finer leaves. Rare, with a narrow native range
- Ssukbujaengi (seedling) — Often sold alongside the others as a generic autumn 'wild chrysanthemum', but a different species. Its leaf margins are distinctly toothed
Source: Donguibogam, Herb Section 紫菀 · Rural Development Administration (Nongsaro)