Aster. COMPOSITtE. 115 



achenia silky.— ^/<. Keiv. {ed. 1) 3. p. 201 ; Pursh ! fl. 2. p. 551 ; Nees, 

 Ast. p. 49 (excl. syn. Miclix.) ; Darlingt. ! Jl. Cest. p. 463 ; DC. ! prodr. 

 5. p. 232. A. undulatus, Linn. ! spec. ed. 2. p. 1228, ^- herb, (not of hort. 

 Cliff. .') ; Ell.! sk. 2. p. 361. A. amplexicaulis, Michx.I Jl. 2. p. 114 ; 

 Big-el. .' Jl.. Bost. ed. 2. p. 312. 



/?. gracilis : heads smaller, terminating the very numerous and elongated 

 brandies ; leaves very small, rigid, scabrous. — Hook. ! compan. to hot. 

 mag. 1. p. 97. 



y. patentissimus : heads large, terminating the elongated branchlets ; the 

 scales of the more turbinate involucre very numerous and more closely im- 

 bricated (in 5-6 series), somewhat canescent, the exterior broader and more 

 obtuse; leaves rigid, hirsute-scabrous. — A. patentissimus, Zrtno?^. / in DC. I. c. 

 A. Arnottii, Nees ! in herb. Arn. Sf- herb. Hook. 



d. phlogifolius : stem simple or paniculate at the summit ; the heads 

 (large) solitary, or frequently several and somewhat racemose on the short 

 branches ; involucre more lax and herbaceous (imbricated in 3-4 series) ; 

 leaves much larger, membranaceous, pubescent beneath, scarcely or not 

 at all scabrous, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, tapering to an acute 

 point, usually contracted below the middle. — Nees, Ast. I. c. (excl. syn. 

 Michx.) ; Darlingt. ! Jl. Cest. I. c. A. phlogifolius, Muhl. ! in Willd. spec. 

 3. p. 2034 ; Pursh ! Jl.. 1. p. 550 ; Nutt. ! gen. 2. p. 156 ; DC. ! I. c. 

 A. auritus, Lindl. in DC. I. c. ? 



Dry soil, Massachusetts ! to Florida! and Louisiana! /?. Alabama, Dr. 

 Gates ! Louisiana and Texas, Drummond ! y. Kentucky ! and Missouri ! to 

 Arkansas ! and Western Louisiana ! 6. Woods, New York ! Pennsylvania ! 

 and Ohio ! to Kentucky ! and North Carolina ! Aug.-Oct. — Stem rather 

 slender, 1-3 feet high. Heads rather large and showy (in ji. less, in y. & 6. 

 usually more than half an inch in diameter), commonly terminating the 

 elongated and diverging branchlets; which are furnished with numerous mi- 

 nute and bract-like leaves. Rays purplish-blue, about 24. Scales of the 

 involucre minutely pubescent or hairy, more or less granulose-scabrous under 

 a lens ; the innermost linear, acute or acuminate (sometimes purplish) ; the 

 exterior shorter and more obtuse. Pappus ferruginous or_ tawny. — The 

 scales of the involucre in var. y. are more numerous and imbricated ; and in 

 the plant of Drummond from St. Louis (A. Arnottii, Nees. ined.) they are 

 broader, more obtuse, and remarkably appressed : other specimens of this 

 variety (A. patentissimus, Lindl. in herb. Ton:, which however have the 

 leaves very scabrous on both sides) pass insensibly into the ordinary state of 

 the plant. — The lower leaves, except in var. 6., rarely exceed one or two 

 inches in length, and are mostly obtuse, but mucronate. In that plant, how- 

 ever, they vary from 3 to 6 inches in length, usually tapering to each end, 

 but are dilated and auriculate at the base"; they occasionally present a fewje- 

 mote serratures. We were strongly disposed to consider it a distinct spe- 

 cies ; but are now convinced by the examination of numerous intermediate 

 forms, that it is a state which the plant assumes in shady moist places. 



****** Heads {middle-sized, showy') 'paniculate or sovuwhat racemose; scales of 

 tlic turbinate or obovoid involucre closely and regularly imbricated in several series 

 (the exterior successively shorter), chartaceous and white (except the midnerve), with 

 very short appressed or slightly spreading green tips : rays bright blue : achenia very 

 smooth and glabrous {or sometimes minutely pubescent with sparse hairs), broadish, 

 compressed, 2r-b-ribbed or nerved: plant perfectly smooth and glabrous {except the 

 branchlets and the scabro^is margins of the leaves), often glaucous: cauline leaves 

 lanceolate or oblong-ovate, thicldsh, sessile or clasping, entire or sparingly serrate ; 

 the radical ovate or oblong {small), tapering into a slwrt and margiiu:d often ciliate 

 petiole. — Concinni, Nees, (excl. spec.) 



