200 COMPOSITE, (composite family.) 



ver)' ; scales of the involucre leafy and spreading ; achcnia smooth. — A Western 

 species, a fonn of which, with narrower and less silvery leaves and scales, prows 

 on tlie mountains of IS'orth Carolina. — SIliu 10' -20' hiyh. Leaves A'-l' 

 long. Heads showy. 



11. A. concolor, L. Stem mostly simple, slender, hearing towards the 

 summit, tiie Tiiiiidic-sizcd heads in a long often compound raceme; leaves lance- 

 olate, pilky when young ; the lowest ones oblong ; scales of the obovoid involu- 

 cre lanceolate, appressed, the subulate tips spreading ; achcnia silky. — Dry 

 sandy soil, Florida and northward. — Root sometimes tuberous. Stem l°-3° 

 high. Leaves erect ^'-V long. 



* * Leaves rourjh, all sessile or clasping and entire : heads chiejly solilary, terminat- 

 ing tlie hranchkts: scales of the ohovoid or bell-shaped involucre imbricated in sei:eral 

 rows, coriaceous, with herbaceous si ightli/ spreading tips: rays purplish-blue : achenia 

 hairy. 



•<- ZjCovcs very small, sessile: heads small : scales of the involucre spattdate. 



12. A. squarrosus, Walt. Stem slender, diffuse ; leaves oblong or tri- 

 angular-ovate, rcflexed, very rough, sessile ; the lowest spatulate. — Dry soil, 

 Florida to North Carolina. — Stem l°-2° high. Lowest leaves |' long, the 

 others 2" - 3" long. 



13. A. adnatus, Nutt. Stem with the slender branches erect; leaves ob- 

 long, very rough, the midrib partly adnate to tlie stem, free at the apex; the 

 lowest wcdgc-obovatc, free. — Sandy barrens, Florida and Alabama. — Stem 

 l°-2° high. Heads smaller than in the preceding. 



-t- ■*- Leaves all clasping and auriclcd at the base : heads large : scales of the invo- 

 lucre linear. 



14. A. patens, Ait. Stem pubescent, loosely paniclcd above; leaves 

 ovate-oblong, with very rough and wavy margins ; those on the slender and 

 spreading branchlets very small. — Var. i'iilogifolius. Leaves larger, thinner, 

 and less roughened, contracted below the middle ; heads often racemose on the 

 short lateral branches. — Dry soil, chiefly in the upper districts. — Stem l°-3'' 

 high. Leaves I' -2' (in the var. 3' -6') long. Heads showy. 



♦ * * Leaves {and stems) smooth : the lowest tapering into a petiole, the others 



sessile or clasping: heads middle-sized, showy: scales of the obovoid involucre 

 whitish, the short green tips scarcely spreading : rays bright blue : achenia mostly 

 smooth. 



l.*}. A. laevis, L. Very smooth and often glaucous; stem rigid, paniclcd 

 above, bearing the siiowy heads on short rigid branchlets ; leaves oblong or lan- 

 ceolate, coriaceous, mostly entire and rough on the margins ; the upper ones 

 8C£silc or clasping; scales of the involucre rigid, appressed, with al)niptly pointed 

 herbaceous tips. — Oi)cn woods in the upper districts. — Stem 2° - 3° high. 



16. A. gracilentUS, Torr. & Gray. Very smooth ; stem slender, loosely 

 paniclcd above, bearing the heads at the end of slender leafy hranchlet.s ; leaves 

 linear, elongated ; the lower ones coarsely toothed above the middle, the upper 

 slightly clasping and entire ; scales of the involucre much shorter than the disk. 



