#china aster

Black Mage + China Aster

"Those who take the black will become agents of devastation, capable of annihilating those who oppose them through little more than the force of their will."

not only are they a part of the (superior in my opinion) family of asteraceae, but also the genus’ (callistephus) etymology is derived from the greek words “kalli-” meaning “beautiful” and “stephos” meaning crown. they have beautiful chrysanthemum-esque blooms and come in all sorts of colours (my favourites being purple and white).

straying away from taxonomy a bit, asters in general are one of the birth flowers for september (my birth month!). they symbolise hope, faith and wisdom. and according to greek mythology, astraea (“star maiden”: goddess of purity, justice and innocence) cried because there weren't enough stars in the sky and when her tears hit the earth, they caused asters to bloom! continuing to follow the greek myth, she was the last goddess to live amongst the humans after the golden age, symbolising the decline of hope for humanity along with the decline of the ages. she left and became the constellation virgo i believe!

some more fun fun facts, asters have a most frequently observed number of n = 9 haploid chromosomes (2n = 18 for diploid). the numerology of the word “aster” also happens to be nine and guess what! september is the 9th month of the year! is it obvious i really like the number 9? almost as much as i love asters <3

String identified:

t at’ a t g, at t cat c (ca at)! t tat ctt t gg a!!

t a t a at t ( ) a ataca, t a t g’ (cat) tg t g “a-” ag “at” a “t” ag c. t a at cat- a c a t c ( at g a t).

tag aa ta a t, at ga a t t t ( t t!). t , at a . a accg t g tg, ataa (“ta a”: g t, tc a cc) c ca t 't g ta t a ta t t at, t ca at t ! ctg t t g t, a t at g t agt t a at t g ag, g t c at ag t t c t ag. t a ca t ctat g !act, at a a t t = 9 a c (2 = 18 ). t g t “at” a a t a g at! t t 9t t t a! t a t 9? at a c a at <3

Closest match: Caligus rogercresseyi isolate FCH chromosome 9 Common name: Sea louse

Callistephus chinensis (China aster)

Asteraceae is a large plant family that contains asters, daisies and sunflowers but the genus Callistephus contains just a single species and this is it, the China aster. This plant is native to China, Japan and Korea but the original wildflower only came in purple. After 2000 years of cultivation, it now comes in a dazzling array of colors and forms.