222 FAMILIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. 



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S. ccBsia gets its name from its blu- 

 ish stem. There is one of the castor- 

 oil plants which also derives its name 

 from its blue stem. But this is not 

 the most important characteristic of 

 this variety of golden-rod ; the flowers 

 grow in tiny clusters at each juncture 

 of the feather-veined leaf with the 

 stem. This is also the character of 

 the white variety (^S". hicolor). The 

 blue-stemmed variety likes moist 

 and shady thickets beside the river, 

 or the subdued light of the hillside 

 where the wood adjoins the pasture. 

 It blooms very late, and I have 

 found it in good condition on the 

 20th of October. 



S. latifolia is in all ways 

 nearly like IS. C(esia, except that 

 it has a less bluish and less 

 branched stem and broader leaves 

 sharply toothed ; the three or 

 four rays of the little flowers are 

 bright yellow. It is common 

 northward in shaded places, and 

 south along the mountains. 



S. odora (sweet golden-rod) has 



