COMPOSITE. (COMPOSITE FAMILY.) 
197 
tinged with purple. —Sandy fields, New Jersey, Pursh. — Not re¬ 
cently found, and perhaps not really a native of this country. 
13. SERICOCARPUS, Nees. White-topped Aster. 
Heads 12 - 15-flowered ; the rays about 5, perfect (white). In¬ 
volucre somewhat cylindrical or club-shaped, closely imbricated in 
several rows, cartilaginous and whitish, with short and abrupt 
green tips. Receptacle alveolate-toothed. Achenia short, in¬ 
versely pyramidal, very silky. Pappus simple, of capillary bris¬ 
tles. — Perennial tufted herbs, with sessile somewhat 3-nerved 
leaves, and small heads in little clusters disposed in a flat corymb. 
Disk-flowers pale yellow. (Name from ar)piK6s, silky, and Kapnos, 
fruit.) 
1. s. solidagineus, Nees. Smooth, slender; leaves linear, 
rigid, obtuse, entire, with rough margins, tapering to the base; heads 
very small, in close clusters, few-flowered; rays slender, pappus 
white. (Aster solidagineus, J Vida.) — Copses, New England to Penn, 
near the coast. July. 
2. S. conyzotdes, Nees. Somewhat pubescent; leaves ob- 
lono-lanceolate or the lower spatulate, mostly serrate towards the apex, 
ciliate, veiny; heads rather loosely corymbed; mvolucre top-shaped; 
rays short; pappus rusty-color. (Aster conyzotdes, WMd.)-Dry 
copses, common. July. — Plant l°-2? high. 
14. ASTER, L. Starwort. Aster. 
Heads many-flowered ; the ray-flowers in a single series, fertile. 
Scales of the involucre more or less imbricated, usually with her¬ 
baceous or leaf-like tips. Receptacle flat, alveolate. Achenia 
generally more or less flattened. Pappus simple, of capillary 
bristles. — Perennial herbs (or annual in §6), with corymbed, 
panicled, or racemose heads. Rays white, purple, or blue: the 
disk yellow, often changing to purple. (Name dtrrtjp, a star, 
from the appearance of the radiate heads of flowers.) 
U. Biotia, DC .-Involucre obovoid-beU-shaped; the scales regularly 
imbricated in several roics, oppressed, nearly destitute of herbaceous 
tips: rays 6-15 (white or nearly so) : achenia slender : lower leaves 
large, heart-shaped, petioled, coarsely serrate: heads in open corymbs. 
1. A. CorymBoSUS, Ait. (Corymbed Aster.) Stem slender, 
somewhat zigzag ; leaves thin , smoothish , coarsely and unequ y 
rate with sharp spreading teeth , sharp-pointed , ovate or ov ate 
late, all but the uppermost heart-shaped at the base an on s en 
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