CARDUACEAE 1223 
cauline approximate or contiguous, rigid, reflexed ; blades oblong-lanceolate to ovate or 
subulate-ovate, 2-9 mm. long, ciliate, serrate, closely sessile: heads few, widely scattered, 
terminating scaly branchlets: involucre 5-6 mm. high ; bracts broadened upward, the dark 
green acute or acutish tips slightly spreading: ray-flowers 14-24; ligules 6-9 mm. long, 
violet : achenes glabrous. 
In dry pine lands, North Carolina to Florida. Fall. 
69. Aster grandiflorus L. Stem 3-7 dm. high, rather stiff, divaricately much 
branched, hispid with short hairs : leaf-blades oblong, linear, or somewhat spatulate, rigid, 
sessile by a broad sometimes slightly clasping base, reflexed, entire, obtusish, hispid, the 
larger 5 cm. long, those of the branches very numerous 4-10 mm. long: heads about 5 
cm. broad, terminating the branches: involucre hemispheric ; bracts very squarrose and 
foliaceous, imbricated in 5-7 series, linear, or linear-oblong, glandular, the outer obtusish, 
the inner acute: rays very numerous; ligules deep violet, nearly 25 mm. long, 3 mm. 
wide: pappus becoming brownish: achenes ribbed, canescent. Resembles A. oblongifolius 
Nutt.; but heads larger and fewer, more glandular. 
In dry soil, Virginia, east of the mountains, to Florida. ‘Late summer and fall. 
70. Aster Curtísii T. & G. Stem 4-18 dm. tall, glabrous, at least below the inflo- 
rescence, angled, corymbose or paniculate above, the panicle sometimes raceme-like : leaves 
various, sometimes all with linear or nearly linear blades and entire or eu serrate, 
sometimes the lower cauline with lanceolate, elliptic, oval or ovate sharply serrate blades 
and petiole-like base and the upper cauline linear and less toothed, occasionally all of 
them relatively broad, all thickish, dark green and glabrous: heads solitary or clustered 
at the end of the stem or its branches : involucre hemispheric, 6-9 mm. high, conspicuous ; 
bracts often slightly ciliolate, pale below the more or less dilated dark green spreading, or 
reflexed tips: ray-flowers 18-28 ; ligules violet-purple, often brilliant, 1-3 em. long: 
achenes glabrous, shorter than the sordid pappus. — Resembles A. spectabilis Ait.; but leaves 
more polymorphous ; stem taller; heads more diffused, and glands lacking. 
In mountain woods, especially in the Blue Ridge, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Fall. 
71. Aster spectábilis Ait. Stem stiff, 3-6 dm. tall, simple, or corymbosely branched 
above, puberulent, or rough below, more or less glandular above: leaf-blades firm, thick- 
ish, those of the basal and lower cauline leaves oval, acute or acutish, 7-12 cm. long, 2-4 
cm. wide, sparingly serrate with low teeth, narrowed at the base into slender petioles ; 
blades of the upper cauline leaves sessile, entire or very nearly so, acute, linear-oblong : 
heads several or numerous, about 35 mm. broad, corymbose, very showy : involucre nearly 
hemispheric ; bracts linear-oblong or slightly spatulate, glandular, imbricated in about 5 
series, the green obtusish tips spreading: ray-flowers 15-30; ligules bright violet, 12-20 
mm. long: pappus whitish : achenes slightly pubescent. 
In dry sandy soil, near the coast, Massachusets to North Carolina, Late summer and fall. 
72. Aster surculdsus Michx. Stem 2.5-4.5 dm. tall, slender, from elongated-filiform 
rootstocks, minutely scabrous-pubescent, corymbosely branched above : leaf-blades firm, 
lanceolate or linear, those of the lower cauline petioled, 5-7 cm. long, rough-margined, 
slightly scabrous above, sparingly dentate, those of the upper narrower, sessile, entire : 
heads few, or sometimes solitary, about 3 cm. broad: involucre turbinate-hemispheric ; 
bracts coriaceous, imbricated in about 5 series, ciliate, but scarcely glandular, their green 
tips spreading : ray-flowers 15-30 ; ligules violet : pappus whitish : achenes nearly glabrous. 
Resembles A. spectabilis Ait.; but the rootstocks more persistent and therefore conspicuous, 
the glands obsolescent, leaf-blades narrower and heads smaller. 
In sandy or gravelly soil, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Reported from New Jersey. 
Late summer and fall. 
73. Aster gracilis Nutt. Stem slender, 3-4 dm. high, finely puberulent and sca- 
brous, corymbosely branched above: leaf-blades minutely scabrous, those of the basal and 
lower cauline leaves oblong, acute or obtusish, 5-7 cm. long, toothed, narrowed into slender 
petioles, those of the upper leaves linear, linear-oblong, or slightly oblanceolate, acute, en- 
tire, sessile or a little clasping : heads usually numerous, 12-20 mm. broad : involucre nar- 
rowly turbinate ; bracts coriaceous, glabrous or very nearly so, imbricated in about five 
series, their tips green and spreading, obtusish : ray-flowers 9-15 ; ligules violet, 6-9 mm. 
long: pappus nearly white : achenes minutely pubescent. Resembles A. spectabilis Ait. ; but 
the heads much smaller, more numerous, more crowded, the glands lacking. 
In dry sandy soil, New Jersey to Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Summer and fall, 
74. Aster dumósus L. Stem 3-9 dm. high, glabrous or very nearly so throughout, 
paniculately much branched : leaf-blades firm, those of the stem linear or linear-lanceo- 
late, 2-7 em. long, entire, acute or obtusish, roughly margined, often reflexed, those of the 
branches very numerous, small and scale-like, those of the basal leaves spatulate, dentate : 
