. 212 COMPOSITJ. (COMPOSITE FAMILY.) 
Var. strictula, Torr & Gray. Stem simple, or with few elongated rough- —— 
pubescent branches; leaves smaller; racemes short, forming a long and slender 
compound raceme. (S. salicina, E/.)— Swamps, Florida, and northward. 
Sept. and Oct. — Stem 4? — 6? high. 
24. S. arguta, Ait. Smooth; leaves sharply serrate, acute or acuminate 
at each end, the lowest elliptical or lanceolate-oblong, somewhat. 3-ribbed, on 
winged and ciliate petioles ; the upper sessile; panicle dense, somewhat corym- 
bose; heads small, crowded, 18 — 20-flowered ; rays 8-12, small; scales of the 
involucre obtuse ; achenia nearly smooth. (S. juncea, Ait., a form with narrower 
and less strongly serrate leaves, the upper ones entire.) — Rich soil in the upper 
districts. Sept. — Stem 29— 4° high. 
25. S. Boottii, Hook. Stem smooth, or pubescent above; leaves lanceo- 
late or oblong, acute or acuminate at cach end, appressed-serrate, smooth or 
more or less pubescent; panicle open, oblong or pyramidal; heads about 12- 
flowered ; rays 5; scales of the involucre obtuse; achenia nearly smooth. —Va- 
ries, with longer, narrower, and more sharply serrate leaves, and slender racemose 
panicles towards the summits of the spreading branches. (S. juncea? Ell.) — 
Sandy soil, Florida to North Carolina. Sept.—Stem 20-30 high, often pur- 
plish. Heads larger and leaves more rigid than in the last. 
26. S. gracillima, Torr. & Gray. Smooth ; stem slender ; lowest leaves 
spatulate-lanceolate, obtuse, serrate near the apex; the others linear and entire ; 
heads rather large, 9 - 12-flowered, forming a narrow compound raceme at the 
summit of the stem and branches; rays mostly wanting ; scales of the involucre 
oblong, obtuse ; achenia pubescent. — Dry pine barrens, Middle Florida. Oct. 
— Stem 2? high. 
+ + + Leaves very numerous, gradually diminishing in size upward, veiny, sessile, 
or the lowest narrowed into a short petiole : heads small. 
27. S. altissima, L. Stem hirsute ; leaves ovate or oblong, acute, serrate, 
rough above, pubescent, especially on the veins beneath, often rugose, promi- 
nently veined ; panicle leafy, often narrow and elongated; the racemes slender 
and recurved ; scales of the 10 — 15-flowered involucre linear; rays 6-9, small ; 
achenia pubescent. (S. rugosa, S. ulmifolia, and S. aspera, Ell.) — Low thick- 
ets, Florida, and northward. Sept. and Oct. — Stem 29 — 6o high, commonly 
- branching. : Leaves variable in texture and pubescence, being thin and smoother 
_ in shady places, and more rigid, rougher, and often rugose in places more ex" 
OO ER IS. ulmifolia, Muhi. Stem smooth, or softly pubescent above ; leaves 
: Ovateda , acuminate, serrate, smooth on the upper surface, paler and pu- 
bescent on the veins beneath ; panicle loose, spreading ; heads about 10-flowered; 
rays 4-5; scales of the involucre acutish ; achenia nearly smooth. — I * 
ground in the upper districts of Alabama, and northward. Sept.— Stem Sov 
..39. S. Elliott, Tor. & Gray. MM ee 
