443 COMPOSITE. ' Astee. 



lanceolate, or the lowermost often oblong-oval ; branches diffuse, mostly elongated, divergent, 

 recurved-spreading or divaricate ; heads loosely or densely racemose ; scales of the involucre 

 linear, acute or acutish. Torr. ^ Gr. I. c. A. diffusus, divergens, pendulus and parviflorus, 

 Nees, Ast. p. 99, ^c. 



var. 4. hirsuticaulis : stem and midrib of the narrowly lanceolate elongated leaves more or 

 less hairy ; heads racemose or spicate on short spreading or diverging branchlets, the upper- 

 most in axillary glomerules much shorter than the leaves ; scales of the involucre very narrowly 

 linear, acute. Torr. ^ Gr. I. c. A. hirsuticaulis, Lindl. in DC. prodr. 5. p. 242. 



An extremely variable species, having the general appearance of the others belonging to 

 this group. Like them it presents every diversity in size, branching, length of the leaves, 

 etc. The heads are small, and usually very numerous. The involucre is campanulate- 

 turbinate, and the scales have a green tip, and are nearly smooth. Rays 10- 16, linear- 

 lanceolate, white or very pale purple. Disk-flowers purplish, few, large. Achenia a little 

 pubescent. Pappus dirty white. 



Old fields, thickets, etc. ; very common. August - October. 



15. Aster simplex, Willd. . Willow-leaved Aster. 



Stem smooth, racemose-decompound ; the branches somewhat corymbose at the summit ; 

 branchlets bearing few middle-sized heads ; leaves lanceolate, acuminate, very smoolh, rough 

 on the margin, the lower (and sometimes the upper) ones serrate ; scales of the involucre 

 loosely imbricated, linear-subulate {Nees). — Willd. enum. 2. p. 887; Nees, Ast. p. 91 ; DC. 

 prodr. 5. p. 239; Torr. cj- Gr. fl. N. Am. 2. p. 1.32. A. salicifolius, Darlingt. Jl. Cest. 

 p. 467. 



Stem varying from a foot and a half to six feet in height, often (particularly the branchlets) 

 pubescent in lines, and striped with green. Leaves 2 — 5 inches long and from 3-8 lines 

 wide, thin, remotely serrate with appressed serralures, tapering to tlie base, sessile or a little 

 clasping. Heads loosely racemose, or a little crowded on the short branchlets. Involucre 

 nearly half an inch in diameter, campanulate-obovoid ; the scales smooth, acute, green with a 

 pale margin. Rays 20 or more, blue or bluish white ; disk-flowers dull purple. Achenia 

 minutely pubescent. 



Margin of swamps, etc. ; rather common. August - October. 



16, Aster tenuifolius, Linn. Slender-leaved Aster. 



Nearly smooth ; stem paniculate-compound, or the branches and (rather small) heads often 

 slightly racemose ; leaves narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate -linear, mostly elongated, attenuate- 

 acuminate, rough on the margin , the lower ones usually sharply serrate in the middle ; those 

 of the branches and branchlets entire, attenuate, gradually reduced in size ; scales of the 

 ovoid-hemispherical involucre linear, acute, closely imbricated below, the points loose or a 

 little spreading; rays rather short. — Linn. sp. 2. p. 873; Nees, Ast. p. 119; DC. prodr. 5. 



