ASTER 



ASTER 



419 



Not very showj'. E. N. Amer. J.H. III. 49:465. Gn. 

 32, p. 318. — Useful for naturalizing in open dry 

 situations. 



Besides these, many other native species are from 

 time to time found in the catalogues of dealers in native 

 plants. The most common are: 



A. acuminatas, ,Michx.; A. amelhystinus, Nutt. 

 (G.F. 5:378); A. Andersonii, Gray; A. Bigelovii, Gray 

 (B.IM.6430); A. canescens, Pursh; A. carnosus, Gray; 

 A. carolinianus, Walt.; A. Chamissords, Gray; A. 

 Chdpnmnii, Torr. & Gra}'; A. commutatus, Gray; A. 

 cdncolor, Linn. (Mn. 10:161); A. conspicuus, Lindl.; 

 A. corymbdsus, Ait.; A. Cusickii, Gray; A. diffusus, 

 Ait., and var. horizontaUs; A. Doilglasii, Lindl.; A. 

 Drurnmondii, Lindl.; A. dumosus, Linn.; A. Jalcatus, 

 Lindl.; A. Fendleri, Gray; A. foliaceus, Lindl. (A. 

 folidsus, Hort.?); A. Fremontii, Gray; A. grandifloras, 

 Linn. (G.C. III. 45:36); A. Hdllii, Gray; A. inlegri- 

 fblius, Nutt.; A. linariifdlins, Linn.; -4. Lindleyanus, 

 Torr. & Gray (Fig. 422), (G.F. 2:449, adapted in 

 Fig. 422; G.M. 34:615); A. longifblius. Lam. (G.F. 

 9:507); A. Menziesii, Lindl.; A. multiflbrus, Ait.; 

 A. nemoralis, Ait.; A. oblongifolius, Nutt.; A. panicu- 

 latu^, Lam.; A. patens, Ait., and var. Meehanii; A. 

 polyphyUus, Willd.; A. Porteri, Gray; ,4. prenanthxAdes, 

 Muhl.; A. ptnrmiccMes, Torr. & Gray (G.F. 3:153); A. 

 pulcheUus, Eaton; A. puniceus, Linn. (G.M. 34:615), 

 (Fig. 423), and var. laevicaidis and var. luddvlus; A. 

 radulinus, Gray; A. sagilifolius, Willd.; A. salicifdlius, 

 Ait.; A. sericeus, Vent. (G.F. 5:473); A. speddbilis, Ait. 

 (Mn. 5:41); A. sureulbsus, Michx. (G.F. 5:521); A. 

 tanacetif alius, HBK.; A. Tradescdntii, Linn. (B.M. 

 7825); A. turbinellus, Lindl. (G.F. 6:17; Gn. 32, p. 

 319); A. undvlatus, Linn.; A. versicolor, WUld. (J.H. 

 III. 49:309). 



In the following list, those marked * are offered by dealers: 

 A. brachytrichuSt Franch. Dwarf: disk.-fls. yellow, ray-fls. blue. 



Yunnan, part of China. R.H. 1900:369. — *A. coccineus nevadens^'s 

 = (?). — *A. Ddtscl)ii=^(?). — *^4. hybridus nnnus={7), "Rosy 

 color, only 6 in. high." — *.4. lancifdUus c<ili/6rnicus^{?). — *A. 

 decima, Hort., white to pink=(?). — *A. delicdta, Hort., pale fiesh- 

 color={?). — *A,gracll- ,.,, 



limus, Hort., white ..-'.e**^^''. 



changing to rosy pink 

 = (?). — A.Ibkris, of gar- 

 dens: 20 in. high, of 

 compact even growth: 

 fls. rich blue. Probably 

 a form of Amellua. — *A. 

 lilacinus nevadensis = 

 (?). — A. Litiosyris, 

 Bernh.^Lynosyris vul- 

 garis, Cass., which see. 

 — *A. mesa grdnde spe- 

 cidsa grandifldra, dark 

 purplish blue^(?). R. 

 B. 36:117.— *.4. Mee- 

 kanii, Hort., is a well- 

 marked form of A. 

 patens, found by Joseph 

 Meehan at Antietam. — 

 *A. ndvx-ca^rulens=={?). 

 — *A. ■pyTamidaXis={1). 

 — A. Rekvesii, Hort., 

 is A. ericoides var. 

 Reevesii, Gray, a "rigid 

 form, comparatively 

 stout, glabrous, except 

 that the Ivs. are often 

 hispidulous-ciliate 

 toward the base, the 

 heads and rays as large 

 and the latter about as 

 numerous as in A. poly- 

 phyllua." N. Amer. — 

 *.4. rotundifdlius, 

 Thvmb. = Felicia. — A. 

 s i k kimensis, Hook. 

 Three to 4 ft., stout 

 and erect: Ivs. lanceo- 

 late-acuminate, spinu- 

 lo.se-serrate: heads pur- 

 ple, in larg-e corymbs. 

 Himalayas. B.M. 4557. 

 J.F. 1, pi. 91.— j1. Strd- 

 cheyi, Hook. Stemless 

 and sarmentose, wiih 

 1-fld. bracted scapes: 

 radical Ivs. spatulate, 

 hairy: heads lilac-blue, 

 1 in. across. Prett y. 

 Himalayas. B.M. 6912. 

 G. M. 31 : 358.—*^. 

 teTm indlis=C!). — A. 

 Tdwnshendii, Hook.= 

 A. Bigelovii, Gray. N. 

 Amer. 



423. Aster puniceus. iXH) 



422. Aster Lindleyanus. ( X H) 



N. Taylor, t 



ASTER. CHINA 



{Callisk'phus hor- 



tensis). One of the 



most popular of all garden annuals, being particularly 



valuable for its fall blooming. 



The evolution of the China aster suggests that of the 

 chrysanthemum at almost every point, and it is, there- 

 fore, a history of remarkable variations. The plant is 

 native to China. It was introduced into Europe about 

 1731 by R. P. dTncarville, a Jesuit missionary in China, 

 for whom the genus Incarvillea of the Bignonia family 

 was named. At that time it was a single flower; that is, 

 the rays or ligulat e florets were of only two to four rows. 

 These rays were blue, violet or white. The center of the 

 flower (or head) was comprised of very numerous tubu- 

 lar, yellowish florets. Philip Miller, the famous gar- 

 dener-botanist of Chelsea, England, received seeds of 

 the single white and red asters in 1731, evidently from 

 France; and he received the single blue in 1736. In 

 1752 he secured seeds of the double red and blue, and 

 in 1753 of the double white. At that time there appears 

 to have been no dwarf forms, for Miller says that the 

 plants grew 18 inches or 2 feet high. Martyn, in 1807, 

 says that, in addition to these varieties mentioned by 

 Miller, there had then appeared a 'Variegated blue and 

 white" variety. The species was well known to Ameri- 

 can gardeners at the opening of the last century. In 

 1806 M'Mahon,of Philadelphia, mentioned the "China 

 aster (in sorts)" as one of the desirable garden annuals. 



