WILD FLOWERS BLUE AND PURPLE 



hairy, lance-shaped leaves are pointed at the tip, and 

 heart-shaped at their base, where they snugly clasp the 

 stalk. They are toothless, and the texture is thin. 

 The numerous flower heads are from one to two inches 

 broad, and are clustered at the ends of the branches. 

 From thirty to forty narrow rays, varying in colour 

 from light violet to rich purple, or rarely white, 

 surround the perfect five-lobed, tubular, yellow, 

 purple-stained disc florets, which are set in a large, 

 sticky green cup. This beautiful Aster is commonly 

 found in rich fields and along swamps from Quebec 

 to the Northwest Territory, and south to South 

 Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, during 

 August, September and October. 



LATE PURPLE ASTER. PURPLE DAISY 



Aster patens. Thistle Family 



One of our most attractive, early flowering and com- 

 mon blue Asters, frequenting dry, open places from 

 August to October, and ranging from Maine and Min- 

 nesota to Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. The slen- 

 der leafy stalk is rough and widely branching. It 

 grows from one to three feet high, and is often stained 

 with purple. The long, lance-shaped leaves are rather 

 thick and rigid, and they are decidedly heart-shaped 

 at the base where they partly clasp the stalk. Their 

 margins and upper surfaces are rough. The soli- 

 tary flowers are an inch or more broad, and they crown 

 the tips of the spreading branches. Twenty or thirty 

 showy rays of a deep rich violet surround the yellow, 



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