COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite 



A common species on dry ground, with 

 Aster " g ovate-oblong, stemless leaves, heart-shaped 



Aster patens at the base and clasping the main stem, 

 Light violet= toothless or nearly so, but rough on the 

 P ur P ,e edge and on the upper surface. Stem 



o*? b St rough-hairy, slender, and widely branched. 



Flowers with 20-30 light violet-purple rays 

 nearly £ inch long, and spreading, pointed, green tips 

 beneath. 1-3 feet high. In dry open places, from Mass., 

 south, and west to northern N. Y. and Minn. 



An aster easily recognized by its remark- 

 avy= eave a ^ e oroaa \ s f emme( ] i i ea f ^ w hich is heart- 



Aster shaped where it clasps the plant-stem ; 



undulatus some leaves are pointed heart-shaped, and 



Light violet the upper ones have an undulating mar- 

 Octobe^" gin " Stems stiff and very rough. Flow- 

 ers light blue- violet, with 9-15 rays. 1-3 

 feet high. In dry places and on shaded roadsides. Com- 

 mon everywhere. 



A familiar, small-flowered aster with 

 Aster" eaVC variable leaves. Stem slender, smooth, 

 As t er and much branched ; the light green leaves 



cordifolius rough or fine-hairy, and usually pointed 



Lilac or lighter heart-shaped with large sharp teeth ; the 

 October*^ u PP er ones short-stemmed or stemless, 

 ovate or lance-shaped. The lilac or blue- 

 lavender flowers, about f inch broad, with 10-20 rays, 

 are crowded in dense clusters like those of the lilac ; the 

 disc-florets turn magenta or madder purple with age. 

 This aster presents a great variety of forms ; there is one 

 among the foothills of the White Mountains, Campton 

 and Plymouth, scarcely 8 inches high, with white flow- 

 ers and smooth, narrow, lance-shaped leaves ; the estab- 

 lished var. Furbishice (Fernald) is distinguished for its 

 long soft-hairy stem and leaf -stalks, the leaves somewhat 

 so beneath ; northern Maine. Also Dr. Britton recog- 

 nizes several other varieties. 1-4 feet high. Common 

 everywhere. 



488 



