1212 CAEDUACEAE 



somewhat outflung teeth ; petioles slender : inflorescence lax and irregular, composed of 

 short branches given off' at a wide angle, often continued in clusters among the lower axils ; 

 the upper axils often conspicuous with ovate or subcircular sessile bracteals : disks turn- 

 ing reddish brown : rays shorter than in its ally, A. divarieatus L., from which it differs 

 especially in its more straggling habit, narrow irregular inflorescence and less-coarsely 

 toothed less prolonged leaves. 



In the mountains, Georgia. Summer. 



8. Aster ftexilis Burgess. Stem low, slender, smooth and virgate: leaf-blades 

 small, short, thin, dull, dark green, ovate-acute with the broad double-rounded base 

 bisected by a deep sharp sinus ; margins crenate-serrate with low obscure teeth ; petioles 

 short : inflorescence scanty, tuft-like, or of a few slim-peduncled heads : bracts narrowly 

 linear, obtuse, quite uniform : plant almost destitute of hair (under lens); otherwise much 

 as A. divarieatus L. Differs from A. Boykinii (with which it grows) especially in its 

 smaller shorter dull leaves, the sharp sinus, crenate margins and obtuse bracts. 



In the mountains, eastern Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Late summer and fall. 



9. Aster multifdrmis Burgess. Stem 3-6 dm. high, minutely glandular, erect, slender, 

 terete, or angular-striate in drying : radical leaves usually 2, their blades large, cordate- 

 oblong ; cauline leaves of several forms, their blades sharply serrate, rough above, minutely 

 puberulent beneath, those of the lower ones ovate, acuminate, usually with a narrow sinus, 

 those of the upper oval to ovate-lanceolate, petioled, the uppermost elliptic-lanceolate, ser- 

 rulate, sessile or nearly so : corymb small, its branches upwardly directed : heads 30-40 

 mm. broad : ray-flowers about 13 ; ligules rounded and retuse at the apex : bracts green : in- 

 florescence-glands few, almost hidden by the minutely strigose pubescence of the peduncles. 

 Resembles A. macrophyllus L. ; but its leaves thinner, narrower, more polymorphous, with 

 narrower sinus, and much less harsh ; glands fewer, smaller, pale, less continuous down 

 the stem : inflorescence more level-topped, obconic when passed : rays bluer, though fading 

 out early. 



In moist shaded places, Maine to New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Summer and fall. 



10. Aster ricintetus Burgess. Stem smooth, red, terete, often 3 dm. high : radical 

 leaves usually two, unequal ; blades deltoid-cordate or ovate-cordate, with long low curves- 

 cent or crenate teeth ; basal leaf smaller, 'the blade orbicular-ovate, without sinus ; lower 

 cauline leaves ovate in type, with slight broad open sinus ; the others lanceolate or oblong, 

 with sessile tapered base ; leaf-margins dentate below, becoming sharp-serrulate above ; 

 petioles slender or with narrow strap-like wings : inflorescence a small loose terminal tuft, 

 with slender ascending pedicels : bracts uniform, lingual : rays rose-purplish and then 

 transiently violet, soon turning whitish, linear-biacuminate. Plant very smooth and pale ; 

 much purplish-red occurs on stem and veins and especially along the bracts; glandular- 

 pubescence very short, with small capitate glands, continuing down the stem to the base ; 

 strigose pubescence discoverable by lens on the upper leaves. Resembles A. multiformis; 

 but the whole plant smoother and paler, with more red and less violet 1 ; leaves smaller, 

 shorter, and often dentate ; bracts narrower and more uniform ; its colors neither sharp nor 

 dull, but as if seen through a veil. 



In moist mountain woods, North Carolina. Late summer. 



11. Aster macrophyllus L. Stems 6-9 dm. high, reddened, angular : radical leaves 

 developed in large colonies, usually 3 to each rhizome, larger and coarser than the similarly 

 shaped lower cauline leaves (which are developed a subsequent year from the same 

 rhizome); blades broad, cordate with a large irregular sinus, rough above, harsh, thick, the 

 teeth broad, curved, somewhat crenate : upper stem-leaves with oblong blades and short 

 broadly winged petioles, those of the uppermost sessile, acute : inflorescence strigose and 

 glandular, broadly corymbose, irregular : heads 15-30 mm. broad : peduncles short, rigid, 

 thickish : ray-flowers about 12-16 ; ligules 10-14 mm. long, chiefly lavender, sometimes 

 violet, or rarely pale : bracts conspicuously green-tipped, the outer acute, the inner oblong, 

 obtuse : disk turning reddish brown. 



In moderately dry soil, in shaded places, Canada to Minnesota and North Carolina. Summer. 



12. Aster commixtus (Nees) Kuntze. Stem 5-6 dm. high, rather robust, glandu- 

 lar-pubescent over the upper half and strigose above : leaf-blades rough, thick, dull green, 

 paler beneath, ovate-acute in type, low-serrate or with curvescent teeth, and with slender 

 petioles ; only the basal leaves, if any, slightly cordate : upper leaves diminished, finally 

 lanceolate and sessile ; bracteals oval, small and few : inflorescence loosely corymbose, with 

 long-ascending pedicels : bracts narrow and acute or subulate, ciliate and minutely puber- 

 ulent, the apex squarrosely recurved : rays pale violet becoming white : disk becoming 

 copper-brown. From its congeners A. mirabilis and the northern A. Herveyi, this is distin- 

 guished by the long acurnination of its squarrose bracts ; and from A. mirabilis by its capi- 

 tate glands. 



In dry woods, Georgia and Alabama. Late summer and fall. 



