GENUS 31. 



THISTLE FAMILY. 



4 2 3 



43. Aster sericeus Vent. Western Silvery or 



Silky Aster. Fig. 4324. 

 Aster sericeus Vent. Hort. Cels, pi. 33. 1800. 

 Aster argenteus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 111. 1803. 



Stem slender, paniculately or corymbosely branched, 

 stiff, glabrous, leafy, I -2 high. Stem leaves sessile, 

 with a broad base, oblong, entire, mucronate, i'-ii' 

 long, 2"-5" wide, erect or ascending, with a dense 

 silvery-white silky pubescence on both sides ; basal 

 and lowest leaves oblanceolate, narrowed into mar- 

 gined petioles ; heads numerous, about i -i' broad ; in- 

 volucre turbinate, its bracts oblong, OF the inner 

 lanceolate, canescent, imbricated in 3 or 4 series, their 

 tips green, acute, spreading; rays 15-25, violet-blue, 

 6"-8" long; pappus tawny; achenes glabrous. 



In dry open soil, Illinois to Minnesota, Manitoba, 

 South Dakota, Tennessee, Missouri and Texas. Aug.- 

 Sept. 



44. Aster concolor L. Eastern Silvery 



Aster. Fig. 4325. 

 Aster concolor L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 1228. 1763. 



Stem slender, glabrous, or pubescent above, 

 i-2i high, leafy, simple, or with few erect 

 branches. Leaves oblong or linear-oblong, 

 finely and densely canescent on both sides, or 

 the lower glabrate, sessile, obtuse or mucro- 

 nate, ii'-2' long; heads numerous in an elon- 

 gated narrow raceme resembling Lacinaria; 

 involucre broadly turbinate, its bracts linear 

 or linear-oblong, appressed, canescent, imbri-- 

 cated in 4 or 5 series, their tips green, acute, 

 the outer shorter; rays 10-15, lilac, 3"~4" long; 

 pappus tawny; achenes villous. 



In dry sandy soil, eastern Massachusetts and 

 Rhode Island to Florida, Tennessee and Louisiana, 

 mostly near the coast. Lilac-flowered aster. Aug.- 

 Oct. 



45. Aster Fendleri A. Gray. Fendler's 

 Aster. Fig. 4326. 



Aster Fe-.idleri A. Gray, Mem. Am. Acad. (II) 4: 66. 

 1849. 



Aster Nuttallii var. Fendleri A. Gray, Pac. R. R. Rep. 

 4: 97- 1856. 



Stems several or solitary from thick woody 

 roots, rig.id, hirsute, 6'-i2' high. Leaves linear, 

 rigid, i-nerved, acute or acuminate, 8"-is" long, 

 i"-ii" wide, glabrous on both sides, but the mar- 

 gins bristly-ciliate ; heads usually few and race- 

 mose, i'-i' broad; involucre turbinate, its bracts 

 glandular, linear-oblong, imbricated in about 4 

 series, the inner acute, the outer shorter and ob- 

 tuse; rays 10-15, violet, 3"~5" long. 



In dry soil on the plains, Nebraska and Kansas to 

 Colorado and New Mexico. Aug.-Sept. 



