238 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



Aster or Solidago? 



In September last I found some rather anomalous specimens 

 of a plant in the prairie near my house. Englewood, like other 

 suburbs of Chicago and many western towns, has its houses scat- 

 tered over the prairie, with interspersed patches of grass land as 

 virgin as when the buffalo and Indian roamed over it. Such a 

 piece of ground lies between my house and the school house 

 where a part of each school day is spent. Hence, this vacant lot 

 is passed several times a day on the way to school, or market, or 

 postoffice, and any change of floral appearance quickly noticed. 

 It is often the scene of a raid for specimens of any particular 

 plant known to grow there when needed to illustrate a lesson in 

 botany. Something of a specialty is made of the study of the 

 Composite in the fall, and few escape the search of pupils and 

 teacher for class work. For the past five years this has been the 

 case, and I thought about every inch of that acre of ground was 

 known. But, greatly to my surprise, there appeared, close to 

 the side-walk, a plant I had never seen before. Was it a Golden- 

 rod or Aster? But who ever heard of an Aster with yellow 

 rays? was the second thought, on pulling up the specimen. 

 Taking it to my room and examining it, it was seen to be unique, 

 and not much time elapsed before the vacant lot was thoroughly 

 searched and more specimens found. About all were single 

 stalks, except one, in which more than a dozen stems sprang 

 from the same root. They were about a foot high. All the 

 stems from this root did not bear yellow-rayed flowers ; some 

 were white, some ochroleucous, some pale or sulphur yellow. It 

 was evident that the habit of the plant was that of Aster ptar- 

 micoides, Torr. and Gr. , plenty of which, both single and many 

 stalked, grew in the vicinity. But the flowers were considerably 

 smaller than those of any Aster ptarmicoides observed, as proved 

 by comparison, being about half an inch in diameter. The plant 

 was smoother, and the leaves tapered below into a clasping peti- 

 ole, or one tending to clasp, on some of the stems. In this it 

 suggested Solidago Riddellii, Frank, growing close at hand. 

 Could it be a hybrid, a cross between this Aster and Solidago, or 

 some other Solidago f was the next query. Will genera cross? 

 This led to the preservation of the plant. It was not dug up, 

 but left to fruit, except a little cut off to get a variety of the 

 flowers. A stake was driven beside it so that it might be iden- 

 tified when the flowers had faded, and all the heads gathered as 



