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The first has a perennial root, of long simple fibres: the stem 

 very various in height, from ten inches to three feet, commonly 

 branching into a panicle, more or less flexuose, never entirely stiff 

 and straight, leafy, angular, striated, a little downy; at the base 

 round and often purple : the leaves elliptic-lanceolate, somewhat 

 rugged, and sliffish; those next the root wider, on longer petioles, 

 and more widely serrate; stem-leaves for the most part indistinctly 

 crenate-serrate, sometimes almost quite entire, varying in size, often 

 recurved ; the upper ones gradually diminishing into lanceolate 

 downy bractes: all somewhat hairy, or covered with short stiff down, 

 paler underneath ; footstalks winged: the flowers in terminating and 

 axillary erect clusters or corymbs, forming a dense leafy pubescent 

 panicle, which varies extremely as to luxuriance and number of 

 flowers; in a barren soil and on mountains being shorter, more dense 

 .and less compound. They are of a golden colour. It is a native of 

 Europe, Siberia, and Japan, flowering from July to September. It 

 has sometimes the names of Wound-wort and Aaron's rod. 



There are several varieties ; as the purple-stalked broad-leaved, 

 which has the stalks stiff, purplish brown, two feet high: the panicles 

 axillary and terminating ; each flower on a long slender footstalk, 

 pale yellow, appearing at the beginning of August : the leaves lan- 

 ceolate, almost four inches long, and a quarter of an inch broad, 

 deeply serrate, pale green beneath. 



The Common Golden-rod, which has the lower leaves ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, two inches long and an inch broad, slightly serrate, on pretty 

 long footstalks: the stems slender, a foot and half high ; with small, 

 narrow, entire, sessile leaves: the flowers in panicled bunches, clus- 

 tered together, forming a thick erect spike, appearing in August and 

 September. The narrow-leaved, which has the stalk round, smooth, 

 a foot and half high : the leaves narrow-lanceolate, an inch and 

 quarter long, and an eighth of an inch broad, almost entire, sessile: 

 the flowers in small clustered branches from the axils, to which they 

 sit very close ; and the stalk is terminated by a roundish bunch. 

 The Dwarf Golden-rod, which has the lower leaves indented : the 

 stalk seldom more than a foot high, branching out almost from the 



