Aster. COMPOSITiE. 117 



sonville, Louisiana, Drummond ! Western Louisiana, Dr. Hale! Sept.- 

 Oct. — Resembles considerably the narrow leaved forms of A. laevis ; but is 

 distinguished by the virgate branches and racemose inflorescence ; the scales 

 of the involucre with sharper spreading points, the exterior often loose and 

 passing into the very small bract-like leaves ; which are usually numerous 

 or crowded on the branches, varying from 3 to G lines long, rigid, subulate- 

 acute or acuminate. Lower leaves 3 to 5 or 6 inches long, 3 to 4 (or in /?. 

 6-10) lines wide, shining above, coriaceous. The plant of Elliott is inter- 

 mediate between our specimens from Dr. Boykin (which has shorter and 

 broader cauline leaves, the lower occasionally serrulate) and those of A. 

 attenuatus, Lindl. Drummond's specimens are remarkably slender, and 

 about 2 feet high. In those from Dr. Hale, tlie margins of the leaves are 

 still more strongly serrulate-scabrous, or the uppermost even minutely ciliate- 

 hispid, and the heads are more obconical. Rays apparently deep blue. 



25. A. concinnus (Willd.) : stem nearly glabrous, somewhat corymbose, 

 loose ; the branches virgate, dichotomous-paniculate ; leaves lanceolate, 

 partly clasping, remotely and sharply serrate, with scabrous margins, those 

 of the branchlets oblong, entire; scales of the involucre linear, acute, closely 

 imbricated. Nces. — Willd. enum. 2. p. 884 ; Nees, Ast. p. 121 ; Lindl. 

 hot. reg. t. 1619; DC. 2}rodr. 5. p. 245 (excl. syn. Colla, liort. Ripul.) ; 

 Hoolc.'fi. Bor.-Am. 2. p. \2? A. cyaneus ? Ell. ! sk. 2. p. 244. 



p. branches more strict and racemose, with smaller and more numerous 

 leaves. Nees, I. c. 



North America, Willdetioiv. (In fields and woods. New York & Penn- 

 sylvania, Pursh.) N. Carolina, Schiveinitz ! (in herh. Ell.) Florida, Mr. 

 Read! (in herb. acad. Philad.) Saskatchawan, Drummond, ex Lindl.! 

 Sept.-Oct. — We have copied the specific character from Nees, having seen 

 no indigenous specimens which altogether accord with the plant cultivated in 

 the Berlin Botanic garden (from which Willdenow described the species) and 

 elsewhere : the fragment from Saskatchawan (in herh. Hook.) is not satisfac- 

 tory, and may belong to A. tevis. But Elliott's A. cyaneus ? (judging from 

 an imperfect specimen) appears to be the same as the cultivated A. concin- 

 nus : the upper cauline leaves are linear-lanceolate, and those of the numer- 

 ous diverging branches narrowly linear ; the heads rather smaller than in 

 most forms of A. laevis ; and the young achenia are minutely puberulent. 

 The specimen from Florida clearly belongs to the same species ; but in its 

 more strict branches and racemose heads it accords with the description of 

 A. concinnus /?., Nees ; and the leaves of the branches are also rather slen- 

 der and narrowly linear. The rays are blue, and the flowers of the disk 

 change to jiurple. — We know not from what source the original A. concin- 

 nus was derived. Willdenow compares the leaves with those of Phlox 

 maculata; and the stem is said to be one and a half to two feet high. 



26. A. turhinellus (Lindl.) : stem and slender paniculate branches smooth 

 or minutely puberulent-scabrous ; leaves lanceolate, smooth, entire, with cili- 

 olate-scabrous margins, tapering to each end, acute, slightly clasping ; those 

 of the filiform branchlets subulate ; involucre clavate-turbinate, as long as 

 the disk; the scales imbricated in numerous series, linear, obtuse, concave, 

 herbaceous merely at the tips ; achenia minutely puberulent-scabrous (under 

 a lens). — Lindl.! in Hook, compan. to hot. mag. 1. p. 98, t^ in DC. prodr. 

 6. p. 244. 



St. Louis, Missouri, Drummond ! Louisiana, Dr. Leavenworth ! — Stem 

 apparently 2-3 feet high, often very much branched in a corymbose-panicu- 

 late manner ; the branchlets rather numerous, lax, very slender, racemose or 

 shghtly paniculate, terminated by middle-sized heads. _ Lower leaves about 

 3 or 4 inches long, rather opaque, pale, sparingly reticulate-veined, or ob- 

 scurely 3-nerved, tapering to an acute point, the margin upwardly almost 



