62 



THE ASTERS. 



The mythical origin of the Asters is Asters belong to the Compositae; a family 

 set forth in an old Greek story, which of plants including from ten to twelve 

 states that after the gods had abandoned thousand species and characterized by 

 the earth, because of the crimes and dis- large numbers of flowers, crowded to- 

 sensions that came with the Brazen Age, gether into single heads, each of which 

 Astraea, the goddess of innocence and gives the impression of a single flower, 

 purity, alone remained, endeavoring to What appear to be petals, are known as 

 redeem the degenerate race of mortals, ray flowers and give the characteristic 

 She, too, finally left, and became known color, as the purple, blue or white of the 

 among the stars as the constellation Aster or the yellow of the Sunflower. 

 Virgo, or the Virgin. After the wrath of These rays consist of flowers, whose pet- 

 Jupiter had been appeased by the de- als have been joined together and spread 

 struction of the earth by water, Virgo, out flat, the points of the petals usually 

 noticing that the summit of Mount Par- appearing on the end of the ray. In the 

 nassus had alone escaped the flood, case of the Asters, the ray flowers, which 

 planted there a seed, whose flowers should occur in a single row, are pistillate or have 

 reflect the azure hue of her new home and a pistil and no stamens and hence are 

 whose heart should typify the Golden capable of producing seeds. The center 

 Age that some day will come again to or disk flowers are tubular, yellow in 

 mankind. This plant, Virgo destined as color and perfect, containing both sta- 

 a symbol of her mission of purity and so mens and pistils. The heads are sur- 

 she gave it her early name, Astraea or rounded by an involucre, having leaf- 

 Aster. That the plants might bloom like tips and are variously massed or 

 for all races of men, Zephyrus, the lover branched along the stems of the plant. 

 of Flora, queen of the flowers, took the With few exceptions, the Asters are 

 seeds and distributed them throughout perennial, coming up each year from the 

 the earth from polar snows to the sun- old underground portions and flowering 

 kissed lands of the equator. Hence it in autumn. They vary in height from a 

 is that the Aster, in some of its varied few inches to eight feet or more, but in 

 forms, is found in all countries, over two the case of the New England Aster, the 

 hundred and fifty species being known completed growth is generally from two 

 to botanists. Although the plant is cos- to seven or eight feet. This species has 

 mopolitan, it is essentially an American a stout and somewhat hairy stem clothed 

 form, one hundred and fifty of the total with many leaves which are pointed, have 

 known species belonging to North Amer- entire edges and a clasping base. The 

 ica. Of the balance, Russia claims ray flowers in the common form are pur- 

 twenty, Europe ten and Canada sixty or pie, but in the two varieties of the species, 

 seventy. they are rose-purple or white. 



It seems as though Nature, after the The plant derives its name from the 



first blush of spring, relaxed her efforts fact that its general distribution in the 



for a supreme endeavor towards the close Eastern States together with the beauty 



of the floral season. Then she assumes of its flowers gained it an early recog- 



her festal robes and the woodlands and nition among the pioneers of New Eng- 



fields become gorgeous with the purple of land, where it soon became a favorite, 



the Asters, the gold of the sunflowers The statement is made that it was the 



and goldenrod, with here and there the chosen flower of John Alden and Priscilla 



cardinal and blue of the lobelias. and, on many occasions, old books, 



Among all this symphony of color, no handed down from revolutionary days, 



plant is more lavish of its charms than have been found to contain dried speci- 



the New England Aster (Aster Novae mens of the flowers. 



Anglae). Botanically considered, the The Late Purple Aster (Aster patens) 



