PETASITES.] COMPOSITE. 195 



purplish below ; sheath ending in small leaves. Thyrsus 3-10 in., female 

 longest, elongating after flowering ; pedicels slender, shortest in the male, 

 bracts subulate. Male heads g, female ^ in. Fruit striate ; pappus white, 

 silky. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, Siberia, W. Asia. 



1O. TUSSILA'GO, Tournef. COLTSFOOT. 



A scapigerous herb, with creeping rootstock. Leaves large, produced 

 after the flowers. Heads yellow, solitary, many-flowered ; invol. bracts 

 1 -seriate, with a few outer short ones ; receptacle flat, naked. Itay-floviers 

 female, multi-seriate, ligulate, narrow ; disk-flowers male, campanulate, 

 5-toothed. Antliers without tails. Style-arms connate, clavate, papillose, 

 with 2 very small cones. Fruit of the ray subcylindric, pappus-hairs very 

 slender, multi-seriate, rough ; of the disk imperfect, pappus 1-seriate. 

 DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), N. Africa, Siberia, W. Asia to N.W. India ; 

 introd. in N. America. ETYM. tussis, from its use as a cough medicine. 



1. T. Far'fara, L. ; leaves broadly cordate angled or lobed toothed. 

 Damp heavy soils, ascending to 2,700 ft. in the Highlands ; fl. March- April. 

 Rootstock stout ; stolons many, burrowing. Leaves 3-10 in. broad, cobwebby 

 above, densely tomentose and white beneath. Scapes 1 or more, 4-10 in., 

 tomentose, with many oblong appressed scales. Head 1-1 3 in. diam., bright 

 yellow, drooping in bud. Pappus soft, snow-white. Leaves used for cigar- 

 making and smoked in cases of asthma. Wool made into tinder. 



11. AS'TER, L. 



Perennial herbs. Leaves alternate or radical, quite entire or toothed. 

 Heads solitary or many, usually radiate ; disk yellow, ray white blue or 

 purple ; invol. bracts multi-seriate, herbaceous or leafy ; receptacle flat, 

 pitted, edges of the pits toothed. Ray-flowers 1-seriate, ligulate, female ; 

 disk-flowers tubular, 5-toothed, 2-sexual. AntJier-cells simple. Style-arms 

 of the ray-flowers linear with thickened margins, of the disk short, tipped 

 with papillose cones. Fruit compressed ; pappus-hairs multi-seriate, per- 

 sistent, scabrid, unequal. DISTRIB. Most temp, and cold regions, but 

 chiefly America ; species about 150. ETYM. from the star-like flowers. 



1 . A. Tripo'lium, L. ; leaves lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate. 

 Salt marshes, abundant; fl. July-Sept. Root fusiform. Stem 2-3 ft., erect, 

 sparingly branched, stout. Leaves 3-5 in., scattered, fleshy, slightly toothed 

 or not, faintly 3-nerved, upper linear. Heads ^-f in., corymbose, campanu- 

 late ; peduncles slender, bracts small ; invol. bracts few, oblong, obtuse, 

 appressed. Ray-flowers whitish or purple, many few or (var. discoideus). 

 i,,'',t pilose; pappus dirty white. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), N. Africa, 

 Siberia, Dahuria. Used as a bad substitute for Samphire. 



12. ERIG ERON, L. 



Characters of Aster, but ray-flowers multi-seriate; fruit compressed. 

 DISTUIB. Temp, and cold regions ; species about 80. ETYM. obscure. 



1. E. alpinum, L. ; leaves radical, scape with 1 or few broad heads, 

 liguk'S much longer than the reddish pappus. E. uniflorum, Sm. not L. 

 Alpine rocks, ascending to 3,000ft., Breadalbane and CloTa Mts.; fl. July- 



Aug. Perennial, hispid, hairy. Rootstock short. Radical leaves spreading, 



oblong-lanceolate ; cauline few, linear-oblong. Scapes solitary or few, 6-8 in. 

 O 2 



