Is variegated foliage on a wild aster normal or have I stumbled upon something unique? I've been scouring the net to see if I could find what I have but so far no luck. There are a number of plants in an isolated area that are doing this.

Possibly chlorosis caused by a virus? The bottom leaf looks to have a leaf miner in it!

http://sdb.im.ac.cn/vide/descr...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

It may also be a virus called Tobacco rattle/Tobacco mosaic/Tobravirus.....one of the synonyms for Tobacco rattle is Aster ringspot, and mottling of the leaves is one of the symptoms. It is a problem in Ash trees that spread the virus to other plants by leaf drop.

I thought it might be a virus but it's obviously not killing the plant and the variegation is pretty .. I can seeds carry a virus?

my guess is virus, too. Seed does not carry virus in the Liliaceae family, but I don't know about Asteraceae (to which it belongs).

Are you sure it is an aster?
Look like an Erigeron species to me.

I think you are right in that it's an Erigeron of some sort but is in the Asteraceae Family. I just figured it was some sort of wild aster .. I'm totally unfamiliar with the Erigeron genus. Whatever it is, I have a yard full of solid green leaved ones that I mow over regularly .. the variegated ones caught me by surprise. Wasn't sure what I had .. I'll collect seeds and see if the variegation carries or if the sold green leaved ones start showing signs of variegation.

Thanks to everyone for you your input!