COMPOSITE 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Aster concolor, L. 



Deep lilac-pink Eastern Silvery Aster, 



Lilac-flowered Aster. 

 September-October 



Aster: Greek for a star, in allusion to the radiate heads of 



the flowers. 



Concolor: Latin for combination of colours. 



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



THE PLANT: somewhat prostrate or slightly erect, one 

 foot to two feet long; the stem nearly simple, wand-like; 

 hairless or with few, short hairs above. 



THE LEAVES: crowded; alternate; linear-oblong or lanceo- 

 late; one and a half to two inches long; flattened against 

 the stem; the upper reduced to little bracts; with dense, 

 fine, white hairs on both sides, or the lower practically 

 hairless; obtuse or capped with an abrupt tip at the apex; 

 stemless; entire. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: numerous in a simple or compound 

 wand-like raceme; the involucre obovoid; the bracts 

 lightly and closely over-lapped in several rows; the rays 

 ten to fifteen. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; pappus, bristly. 



One of the most beautifully coloured Asters that we 

 have, preferring very sandy soil and so found along road- 

 sides or almost in the sand dunes. At times, by the shore, 

 the lacy network of the sprays of flowers waving above 

 the shorter grasses, is Japanese in its delicacy of colouring. 



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