dʒˈɜːmən bˈɑːtɐnˌɪst kɹˈɪstʃən ɡˈɑːtfɹid dˈænjəl nˈiːz vˈɑːn ˈɛsənbˌɛk ɪstˈæblɪʃt ðɪs dʒˈɛnəs ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi θɹˈiː bɪkˈʌz hiː θˈɔːt ðˌæɾə plˈænt hiː ɛɡzˈæmɪnd, nˈaʊ bᵻlˈiːvd təbi ɐ kˈʌltᵻvˌeɪɾᵻd vɚɹˈaɪəɾi ʌv nˈuː jˈɔːɹk ˈæstɚ sˈɪmfɪˌɑːtɹɪtʃəm nˈoʊvibˈɛldʒɪˌaɪ, wˌɪtʃ hiː kˈɔːld sˈɪmfɪˌɑːtɹɪtʃəm ˈʌŋktʃuːˌɑːsəm, wʌz səfˈɪʃəntli dɪstˈɪŋkt fɹʌmðə ɹˈɛst ʌvðə dʒˈɛnəs ˈæstɚ tə wˈɔːɹənt ɪts ˈoʊn dʒˈɛnəs.
German botanist Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck established this genus in 1833 because he thought that a plant he examined, now believed to be a cultivated variety of New York aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii), which he called Symphyotrichum unctuosum, was sufficiently distinct from the rest of the genus Aster to warrant its own genus.