39. COMPOSITE. 105 



27. A 'STER. Starwort, Michaelmas-Daisy. 



A. TRIPOLIUM, L. Sea-side Stamuort. Stem erect, or decum- 

 bent, smooth, 3 15 in. high. Le. linear-lanceolate, entire, 

 somewhat fleshy. Fl. -heads corymbose. Scales of the involucre 

 imbricated, blunt, membranous, the inner longest. Florets of 

 the ray few, purplish or blue, sometimes absent, of the disk 

 yellow. 



Frequent. On the "banks of the Clyde from Renfrew to Arran. (B) P. 8 9. 



28. SOLIDAGO. Golden-Rod. 



S. VIRGAUREA, L. Stem erect, very stiff, 6 in. to 2 ft. high. 

 Le. oblong or lanceolate, slightly toothed, tapering to the base. 

 Fl. -heads crowded, in narrow panicles, with a spreading ray of 

 10 12 florets. Scales of the involucre lanceolate, acute. Achenes 

 downy. 



Frequent. In woods and bushy places. (B) P. 7 f). Carmyle and Kenmuir 

 woods ; Cambuslang glen ; Garscube ; Gourock ; Cumbrae and Arran. 



29. SEN^CIO. Groundsel, Ragwort, Fleawort. 



A. Florets of the ray wanting, or small and rolled back. 



1. S. VULGARIS, L. Common-Groundsel. Stem erect, branched, 

 6 12 in. high. Le. pinnatifid, toothed, half clasping the stem. 

 Fl. -heads in terminal clusters. Involucres cylindrical, outer 

 scales very small, with black points. Florets of the ray generally 

 absent. Achenes silky. 



Very common. Waste ground, fields, and gardens all the year round. (B) A. 



2. S. YISCOSUS, L. Stinking-Groundsel. A coarser and taller 

 plant than the last. Le. more deeply pinnatifid, downy, viscous, 

 with a foetid smell. Fl.-head with more florets, ray rolled back. 

 Florets paler in colour. Scales of the involucre lax, hairy, viscid. 

 Achenes smooth. 



Not common. (G) A. 7 8. "At Rawhead," Ure. On a railway running 

 from the west end of 'Gadder Wilderness to the Forth and Clyde Canal, plentiful ; 

 Possil marsh. 



3. S. SYLVATICUS, L. Mountain-Groundsel, Stems 1 2 ft. 

 high, mostly branched, hairy. Le. deeply pinnatifid, lobed, un- 

 equally toothed, downy, scarcely viscid, nor with such a foetid 

 smell as the former. Fl. in corymbose heads. Outer scales of the 

 involucre very short, smooth, ray rolled back. Achenes silky. 



Not common. Banks, sandy and gravelly pastures. (B) A. 7 9. Sand hills, 

 Tollcross; near Cambuslang and High Bluntyre; Gourock; Bute and Arran. 



