ORDER SUPERFLUA. 109 



marginal petals. These rays are flattened, or ligulate 

 florets, furnished only with styles, and are commonly 

 white, blue, or purple, while the perfect tubular florets 

 of the disk are generally yellow. 



We shall commence the examples of this section 

 by one of the commonest weeds of North America, 

 in flower throughout the autumn, in every sterile fal- 

 low field and neglected garden, spreading itself with 

 such facility by its innumerable winged seeds, as to 

 have now become also equally common throughout 

 Europe and northern Asia, having, probably, com- 

 pleted in its migration the whole circle of the globe 

 in which it had originated. To this inelegant and 

 obscure flowered weed, long known as the Canadian 

 Fleabane (Erigeron canadense), differing so materially 

 from the true Erigerons, I some years ago gave the 

 name of Canotns (in allusion to the commonness of 

 the plant), forming of it then only a subgenus, though 

 it probably merits separation as a perfect genus, 

 including about 3 species, formerly Erigerons. Hav- 

 ing very many minute radial florets, they are closely 

 allied to the preceding section of flowers with incon- 

 spicuous or anomalous rays. They have, also, an 

 oblong calyx ; and a simple pappus. The common 

 species alluded to, is either annual or biennial, and 

 of every size, from a few inches to 5 feet, accord- 

 ing to the nature of the soil on which it grows. 

 The stem is hairy or hispid, and paniculated ; the 

 leaves narrow, and lanceolate, the lower ones pardy 

 serrated ; the rays are crowded, very short, and yel- 

 lowish white, in common with the rest of the flower. 

 There is also a second species, with all the leaves 

 entire, in other respects very similar, but always small. 

 A third very distinct species, is Michaux's Erigeron 

 divaricatum, indigenous to the banks of the Ohio and 

 Mississippi near their junction. This is a low grow- 

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