miller] ASTERS 251 



well up above the stamen tube and out of reach of the pollen of its 

 own flower. After it has done this the pistil is ready for the friendly 

 insect, laden with foreign pollen grains to brush against it in its 

 eager search for the nectar that lies in the bottom of the flower cups. 

 Such is the mechanism of all asters for securing cross-fertilization. 

 This probably does not insure against fertilization from the same 

 flower-head but by all indications it does prevent self-fertilization 

 of a single floret. 



It is a hard task indeed, even for a botanist to know all species 

 of asters by name. Perhaps the most popular and the one most 

 easily recognized is the large purple aster or Xew England aster. 

 Aster Xovae-Angliae, as Mr. Gray calls it. It grows so tall and 

 stately that it attracts the attention of even the disinterested way- 

 farer. It is the tallest of the asters, sometimes reaching a height of 

 seven or eight feet. The stem is very stout, reddish in color and 

 covered with fine bristly hairs. Its leaves are lance-shaped, rather 

 thin, slightly hairy and clasp the stem at the base almost encircling 

 it. The flower-heads are very numerous and clustered at the top 

 of the stem and tips of branches. Each one is large, being nearly 

 two inches broad. The disks are orange-yellow changing to 

 reddish brown with age. The ray-flowers, forty to sixty in number 

 are very long and usually colored a very deep purple. It is a 

 singularly handsome aster, with its fine free gesture, as stately as 

 a queen. 



Simply because its petals are purple, it has been called the widow 



of flowers. A poet has carried this idea out in a poem entitled "The 



Asters and the Goldenrod." 



"Right wealthy is the Goldenrod, 

 A very Croesus he; 

 The widowed, weeping Asters came, 

 To crave his charity. 



He gave them each a piece of gold, 



Yellow and round and bright, 

 They clasped it in their purple robes, 



And beamed their deep delight. 



Then Goldenrod with stately nod, 



And glowing features cried, 

 Come every fall, and with you all 



My gold will I divide!" 



All the sunny cheer that the autumn fields give us seems generally 

 to be ascribed to the goldenrod, and the aster is made the symbol 

 of the sadder tone of the season : 



