114 COMPOSITiE. Aster. 



base; the lowermost oblong-spatulate ; the upper lanceolate-linear, all strong- 

 ly 1-nerved. Peduncles or branches several, simple, or sometimes forked, 

 almost tomentose. Immature achenia canescent. Pappus rusty. — We have 

 only seen the single specimen in Sir Wm. Hooker's herbarium : we doubt 

 if it be so nearly allied to A. concolor as is supposed. 



* * * • Heads {middle-sized, large for the size of the leaves^ solitary terminating the 

 numerous diffuse braiichMs : scales of the obovoid-turbinate involucre closely im^ 

 hricated in several series (the exterior successively shorter^, coriaceous, spatvlate-linear, 

 ivith short herbaceous slightly squarrose or spreading tips ; achenia short, turbinate, 

 minutely canesce?it : leaves croioded throug/wut the slender stem and brandies, very 

 short and uniform {except the very loicesl), thiclc, hispid-scabrous, ovate-oblojig or 

 lanceolate, either appressed or squarrose-rcflcxcd. — Brachyphylli. 



20. A. squarrosus (Walt.) : stems minutely hispid, diffusely branched ; 

 the branchlets short, somewhat paniculate or racemose ; leaves triangular- 

 ovate or oblong, mucronulate, squarrose-reflexed. — Walt..' Car. p. 209; 

 Michx.Ifl. 1. p. 112,- Willd.! spec. 3. p. 2028; PursJi, fl. 1. p. 547; 

 Ell. .' sTc. 2. p. 530 ; Nees, Ast. p. 115 ; DC. ! prodr. 5. p. 243. 



Dry soil, N. Carohna ! S.Carolina! Georgia! and Florida ! Sept.-Nov. 

 — Stems (suffruticose at the base ?) about 2 feet high ; the branches often vir- 

 gate. Leaves somewhat fleshy and rigid ; the radical ones obovate-oblong, 

 sessile, nearly an inch long ; the cauline nearly uniform, crowded so as often 

 to appear imbricated downwards, usually 2-3 lines long, minutely hispid, 

 especially on the margins. Involucre one-third to nearly half an inch in di- 

 ameter ; the scales scabrous-puberulent, coriaceous and whitish, except the 

 oval mucronulate spreading foliaceous tips. Rays 15-20, lanceolate-linear, 

 large and showy, bright blue. Pappus brownish when old. 



2\. A. adnatus (^uit.) : minutely hispid-scabrous throughout; ascending 

 stems and branches virgate ; leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong, mucronulate, 

 almost imbricated, appressed, adnate to the stem ! — Null. ! in jour. acad. 

 Philad. 7. p. 82 ; Hook..' comjmn. to hot. mag. 1. p. 97. A. microphyllus, 

 Torr.! ined. ; Lindl. .' in DC. prodr. 5. p. 244, (badly described.) 



Dry soil, Florida, Nuttall! Dr. Alexander .' Dr. Chapman! Alabama, Dr. 

 Gates! New Orleans, Drummond! Sept.-Nov. — Resembles the preceding; 

 the heads and flowers similar. Stems suffrutescent at the base, with loose 

 virgate branches, clothed with the minute leaves (1-3 lines long) quite to the 

 summit. The leaves are coherent to the stem and branches by the midrib, 

 the summit only being free ; they are more finely scabrous than in A. squar- 

 rosus : the very lowest, which are about three-fourths of an inch long, 

 are nearly or quite free. Rays ' pale lilac' {Nutt.), or rather violet-blue. 



;^ « % » >» Heads {^rather large) mostly solitary terminating tJie spreading brayichlets : 

 scales of the obovoid-turbinate or somewhat campanulate involucre closely imbricated 

 in several series, rigid, vnth herbaceous mostly acute a/nd somewhat spreading tips, 

 the exterior successively shorter : achenia linear-oblong, many-slnatc, silky-canescent : 

 leaves auriculaJte-ayrdate and clasping the stem, entire, pubescent or scabrous ; those of 

 the brancltlets very smaU. — Patentes. 



22. A. patens (Ait.) : stem pubescent; paniculate at the summit; leaves 

 ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, pubescent or scabrous, with ciliate and 

 very scabrous (often undulate or almost serrulate) margins, sometimes nar- 

 rowed below the middle, auriculate-cordate and clasping ; those of the spread- 

 ing or divaricate slender branchlets very small ; heads mostly solitarj^ on 

 the branchlets ; scales of the involucre lanceolate, scabrous-puberulent ; 



