COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite. 



A stout, stiff, purplish-stemmed species 



Astfr ,eaVed with few ' rou S h ' lar S e ' 4 " 8 inches long, 

 4_ s t er closely toothed, basal leaves, the upper 

 macrophyllus ones ovate, almost stemless, and sharp- 

 Lilac pointed. Flowers about an inch broad, 



Se^ember W * th 10 ~ 16 bluisb lilaC ' or raivlv lilac- white, 



rays ; disc-flowers turning madder brown 

 with age. 2-3 feet high. Common in damp thin woods 

 or on dry banks. Me., south to S. Car., west to Minn. 



A very handsome species found only 

 Showy Aster , J . . . * r \ , J 



Aster spectabilis near the coast « Wlth but few BhOWy, deep 

 Violet blue-violet flowers about as broad as a fifty- 



August- cent piece, with 15-25 rays often £ inch 



October long. The olive green leaves, mostly 



toothless, are oblong lance-shaped and rough. The stiff, 

 generally simple stem, 1-2 feet high, is slightly rough 

 below. Sandy soil. Mass. to Del. 



_ _ , _ A low slender species with few large, 

 Rough-leaved .,.«,- A . . j 



Aster violet-blue flowers and a rough stem and 



Aster radula leaf, the latter dark green, stemless, sharply 

 Violet toothed, strongly veined, and oblong lance- 



August- shaped. The upper leaves closely clasp the 



stem. The flowers with about 22 rays 

 nearly \ inch long. 1-2 feet high. In wet situations 

 and moist shady copse borders. Me., south to Del. and 

 the Pocono Mts., Pa., generally near the coast. A dwarf 

 form, var. strictus, has nearly entire leaves and usually 

 solitary flowers ; White Mountains, N. H. 



A familiar and common species with 

 New England nume rous handsome flowers about an inch 

 Aster broad, which vary from light violet to 



Novce-Anglice light purple or white, and in the var. 

 Purple or roseus to magenta. The stem stout, 



magenta branched, and rough ; the olive green, 



October" soft-hairy leaves lance-shaped, toothless, 



thin, and clasping the stem by a broad 

 base rounded at either side. The flowers, rarely larger 

 than a silver quarter, have usually 30-40 narrow rays, 

 and terminate the branches in large clusters. 2-6 feet 

 high or higher. Frequently cultivated ; common north- 

 ward, and south to S. Car. 



486 



