AUGUST TO NOVEMBER. 



217 



S. arguta 

 is perhaps 

 the earliest 

 golden-rod, 

 and will be found 

 sometimes in full 

 bloom in the mid- 

 dle of July. Its 

 sharply toothed leaf is feather- 

 veined — that is, the veins spring- 

 outward from each side of the 

 middle rib, just as the smaller di- 

 visions of a feather spring from its 

 quill. The main stem is smooth. 

 The slender flower stems, bearing 

 greenish -yellow (in efi^ect) flowers, 

 spread widely apart and droop. 



,6'. altlssmia, one of the lowest of 

 the common varieties, is never over 

 four feet high and resembles S. aiyuta, 

 but it has a rough, hairy stem and a 

 very veiny leaf which is broad-lance- 

 shaped and toothed. It has one-sided, 

 curved flower clusters which are bright 

 yellow. 



S. ulmifolia (elm-leaved golden- 

 rod) is a similar variety. Gray says, 



