COMPOSITE*:. (COMPOSITK FAMILY.) 281 



* Heads iiarroir, sm(ill,ci/moseli/ paniculate ; rays few, pistillate, usuallij ftrtile ; 

 involucre erect. 



1. V. OCCident^lis, Walt. Stem tall, 4-winge(I ; leaves opposite, ova,te 

 to ol)lon<;-lauccuhitc, triple-uervcd, serrate, pointed at both cuds, often pubes- 

 cent beneath (large and thin); iieads in compound corymbs; receptacle flat- 

 tiah ; Jl owe rs yellow; rays 1-5, lanceolate; achene.s wingless. (V. Sieges- 

 beckia, Michx.) — Rich soil, S. Penn. to 111., and southward. July. 



2. V. Virginica, L. Stem narrowly or interrnj»tedly winged, downy- 

 pubescent, like the loirer surface of the ovate-lanceolate feather-veined alternate 

 leaves; heads in cojupound corymbs ; receptacle convex ; //o«y-/-.s ichite ; rays 

 3-4, oval ; achenes winged. — Dry soil, Tenn. ( ') to 111., and southward, Aug. 



* * Heads liroader, solitani or few. 



3. V. helianthoides, Michx. Terennial; stem hairy (1 -3*^ l»igl')» 

 widely winged by the ovate to the ovate-lanceolate sessile alternate leaves, 

 which are rougli above and soft-hairy beneath; involucre appressed; rays 

 8- 15, pistillate or neutral, usually sterile; achenes winged, tipped with 2 

 fragile awns. (Actinomeris helianthoides, Nutt.) — I'niiries and copses, Ohio 

 to Iowa and soutliward. July. 



4. V. encelioides, Beuth. & Hook. Annual, branching, 1 - 2° high, cine- 

 reous; leaves alternate, ovate or cordate to deltoid-lanceolate, the petioles 

 mostly winged and auriculate at base ; involucral scales linear, equal, folia- 

 ceous, spreading ; rays numerous, fertile. — Kan. to Tex., and westward. 



54. ACTINOMERIS, Nutt. 



Iieads many-flowered ; rays neutral, few or none. Involucral scales few, 

 herbaceou.s, nearly equal, soon deflexed beneath the globular disk. Kecep- 

 tacle small, chaffy. Achenes flat, obovate, winged or wingless, at maturity 

 spreading in all directions ; pappus of 2 or 3 smooth persistent awns. — Tall 

 branching perennials, Avith serrate feather-veined leaves, tapering to the base 

 and mostly decurreut on the stem. Heads coryml)ed ; flowers chiefly yellow. 

 (Name from clkt'is, a ray, and fJLcpls, a part ; alluding to the irregularity of the 

 rays.) 



1 • A. squarr6sa, Nutt. Stem somewhat hairy, usually winged above 

 (4-8° high); leaves alternate or the lower opposite, oblong or ovate-lanceo- 

 late, pointed at both ends; rays 2-8, irregular. — Kich soil, I'cnu. and \V. 

 New York to Iowa, and southward. Sept. 



65. COREOPSIS, L. Tickskkd. 



Iieads many-flowered, radiate ; rays mostly 8, neutral, rarely wanting. In- 

 volucre double ; each of about 8 scales, the outer rather foliaceous and some- 

 what spreading; the inner broader and appressed, nearly membranaceous. 

 Keceptacle flat, with membranaceous chaff deciduous with the fruit. Achenes 

 flat, obcompressed (i. e., parallel with the scales of the involucre), often winged, 

 not narrowed at the top, 2-toothed or 2-awued, or sometimes naked at the sum- 

 mit, the awns not barbed downwardly. — Herbs, generally with opposite leaves, 

 and yellow or party-colored, rarely ])ur])le, rays. (Name from KJpis,a l>ui/,aud 

 Oipii, resemblance ; from the foruj of the acheue.) 



