A native of Asia, cultivated and rarely escaped. Collected in 1951 (F. W. Rapp Cass-663, MICH) at Jones, Cass Co., without further data.

The rays are blue-purple and the heads large, in corymbs. 

A depauperate specimen (with a single head!) of what appears to be Aster ×frikartii Silva Tar. & C.K.Schneid. was collected in Delta Co. in 1994 (Henson 3941, MICH), apparently spreading into a wooded area from an old garden. It is a much smaller plant, up to 1 m tall with leaves at most 3 - 3.5 cm broad, while A. tataricus may be up to 2 m tall with the widest leaves up to 10-15 cm broad.