COMPOSITE. 107 



leaves. In rich mould, and under favourable conditions, its leaves assume a greater 

 size, the stalk rises several inches in height, and all its parts expand in proportion. 

 As it approaches the sandy shores of the sea, it becomes almost stunted, and produces 

 small dark-coloured leaves and minute short-stalked flowers. In counting the number 

 of flowers produced on oue head under these various circumstances, we find that both 

 the ligulate and tubular flowers vary from twenty to forty or fifty in number ; the colour 

 of the ligulate flowers is also very variable, from white tinged with pink to a deep pink 

 scarcely showing any white whatever. In the cultivated garden Daisy this is very 

 evident ; the tubular flowers become almost, if not quite, obsolete, and their place is 

 taken by ligulate flowers, which assume a deep pink colour. In the variety known 

 by the name of " hen and chickens," little flower-buds are formed in the axils of the 

 bracts ; sometimes as many as ten or twelve of these minute daisies surround the 

 parent flower; thus suggesting its familiar name. 



GENUS XXII.—E R I G E R O N. Linn. 



Antliodes heterogamous and radiant, many-flowered. Pericline 

 hemispherical or campanulate or sub -cylindrical, consisting of 

 numerous rows of imbricated herbaceous phyllaries. Clinanth 

 slightly convex, naked, pitted. Plorets of the disk perfect or male, 

 regular with a tubular-funnelshaped corolla, sometimes surrounded 

 by tubular female florets ; those of the ray female, in numerous 

 rows, all with narrow ligulate corollas. Achenes compressed, not 

 ribbed, often pubescent. Pappus of a single row of hairs with 

 smaller ones intermixed, or with a distinct outer pappus of short 

 hairs or scales. 



Herbs with narrow entire usually sessile alternate leaves and 

 solitary or corymbose or paniculate anthodes, with the florets of 

 the disk yellow, those of the ray white or purple, sometimes in- 

 conspicuous. 



The derivation of the name of this genus is from epi {eri), an intensive particle, 

 or tap {ear), early, and yEpu)v {geron), old, in allusion to the receptacle, which soon 

 becomes like a grey head. 



SPECIES I.— ERI GERON CANADENSIS. Linn. 



Plate DCCLXXIII. ^/^ ^ I'-tAvt ^U^ , 



RdcK Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. XVI. Tab. CMXVII. Fig. 1. 

 Billot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 34. 



Annual. Stem paniculately branched. Radical leaves obovate, 

 stalked, serrate ; stem-leaves very numerous, linear-strapshaped, 

 mostly entire, bristly-ciliated. Anthodes paniculate or racemose- 

 paniculate. Peduncles generally branched, pilose, not glandular. 

 Pericline cylindrical ; phyllaries lax, linear - strapshaped, very 



