DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME COMMON WEEDS 23! 



cymose clusters ; heads with white flowers. Common 

 in woods in the Mississippi Valley, east to New Bruns- 

 wick. Boneset (E. perfoliatiim) having lanceolate, con- 

 nately perfoliate, wrinkled, downy leaves and white flow- 

 ers is found in marshes, especially in the North. The 

 Joe pye weed (E. purpureum) occurs in similar places. 

 It has tall, stout stems ; whorled leaves ; and purple flow- 

 ers, and is found chiefly northward. The mist flower (E. 

 coelestinum), with opposite, petioled, ovate leaves and 

 blue flowers, is common in the South. 



Gumweed (Grihdclia squarrosa, (Pursh) Dunal.). A 

 resinous, viscid, glabrous perennial from one to three 

 feet high ; leaves alternate, spatulate to linear-oblong, ses- 

 sile or clasping, spinulose, serrate ; heads many-flowered ; 

 ray flowers yellow, pistillate ; scales of the involucre 

 hemispherical, imbricated in several rows with green 

 tips; achenes short and thick; pappus consisting of two 

 or three awns. Common west of the Missouri River 

 from Mexico, Nevada and Texas, north to British Amer- 

 ica and east to Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, occa- 

 sionally as far as New Jersey. 



Goldenrod (SoUdago canadensis, L.). A perennial with 

 rough stem, from three to six feet high ; leaves hairy be- 

 neath, rough above, lanceolate and pointed, sharply ser- 

 rate ; heads small, few flowered ; rays yellow, short pistil- 

 late ; scales of the involucre appressed, not herbaceous ; 

 receptacle small, not chaffy ; achenes ribbed ; pappus sim- 

 ple, of capillary bristles. Widely distributed from New 

 Brunswick to Florida ;. common in pastures and borders 

 of fields in the Rocky Mountains to the Northwest Ter- 

 ritory and Arizona. 



White Aster (Aster ericoides, L.). A smooth or spar- 

 ingly hairy perennial from one to three feet high ; lower 

 leaves oblong-spatulate, toothed, the upper linear-lanceo- 

 late or linear-awl-shaped ; heads small in racemes ; scales 

 of the involucre nearly equal with awl-shaped, green 



