Gray Gold-Aster (Heterotheca canescens) and its beautiful flowers is very abundant now at Lake Kirby Nature Park along the dam road and prairie areas. It’s a very common mid-summer into fall species in the sunflower family.
The foliage is grey-silver in appearance, hence the common name.
Songbirds eat the seeds and the many flowers provide nectar for pollinators. It is not palatable to livestock so, from a rancher’s perspective, this is just a native species that crowds out other more desirable plants.
Even so, it’s definitely worth stopping to take a look at to admire the attractive flowers and foliage.
Texas Rolling Plains Naturalist 