COMPOSITE 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Chr ysopsis fakata, (Pursh.) Ell. 



Yellow Sickle-leaved Golden Aster, 



Ground Gold-flower. 

 July-October 



Chrysopsis: Greek for golden aspect. 

 Fakata: from Latin for a sickle. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dry, sandy soil of the Commons. 



THE PLANT: partially erect and spreading, four inches to 

 twelve inches high; the stem corymbosely branched above, 

 rather stiff, leafy to the top, with tiny, soft, woolly, short 

 hairs, at least when young or becoming almost hairless. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; spreading; rigid; sometimes 

 slightly curved; linear; one inch to four inches long; acutish 

 at the apex; stemless; entire; obscurely parallel-nerved. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: rather few at the tips of the branches, 

 less than one inch wide; involucre bell-shaped; its bracts 

 with a few short, soft hairs. Rays numerous, overlapping. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; pappus brownish and bristly. 



The wealth of the Indies in yellow tone is spread over 

 the Commons and particularly along the ruts of the sandy 

 roads out of town, by the Golden Aster, in its crowded 

 clumps. The flowers raise their bright heads from the 

 fine, grey-green leaves, equally happy in the sunshine or 

 the rain. Unfortunately, this is another difficult plant to 

 use for decoration, for, while it lasts well, the branches are 

 so spreading that the fresh flower heads are far apart and 

 there are always many that, having gone to seed, have 

 already become brown-white and fuzzy. 



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