ORDER 70. CO M 1'OSIT^fl. 423 



17 A. ameth^stinus Nutt. ? Clothed with a minute hoary tomentum ; st 

 racemous-paniculate ; Ivs. linear-lanceolate, entire, rough, acute, with somewhat 

 auriculate appendages at the clasping base; invol. broad-bell-shaped; scales 

 hispid-pubescent, imbricated, erect, with acute squarrous, green tips; ach. silky 

 Moist soils, Ms. (Dr. Robbins, etc.) to 111. (Mr. J. Wolf.) Hds. with showy blue 

 rays, expending 1'. Differs from NuttalTs descr. ia its scales which are not of 

 equal length. Sept 



18 A. puniceus L. St. hispid, paniculate ; Ivs. amplexicaul and more or less 

 auriculate at base, appressed serrate, roughish above; invol. loose, longer than the 

 disk, the scaks linear-lanceolate, long and revolute, nearly equal and 2-rowed. A 

 large, handsome aster, common in swamps and ditches, sometimes in dry soils, 

 N. States and Can. St. 4 to 6f high, generally red (at least on the South &ide\ 

 furrowed, hispid. Lvs. rough-edged and rough beneath, acuminate, and some nar- 

 rowed at base. Rays 30 60, long (5") narrow, pale-purple, showy. Aug. Sept. 



/?. VIMINEUS. Tall, slender, smoothish ; hds. few, very large ; Ivs. narrow. 

 >'. FIRMUS. Low (2 3 f.) scabrous, stout; Ivs. thick, subentire. Hds. many. 

 <S. GLABER. Low (2f.) simple, smoothish ; Ivs. narrow, erect, entire; sc. loose 

 but not recurved ; rays large, 20 30, pale. Swampy thickets, 111. (J. Wolf.) 

 E, CANDIDUS. The common form (a) with white rays. N". Y. (Mr. Hankenson.) 



19 A. prenanthoides Muhl. St. hairy or pubescent above, corymbous-panicti- 

 late ; Ivs. oval- lanceolate, serrate, acuminate, attenuate at base into a long winged 

 petiole which is auriculate at the insertion ; invol. imbricated with several rows of 

 linear, green-tipped, spreading scales. Grows in low woods, X. Y. to Ky. Stem 

 2 3f high, with a terminal, corymbous panicle of largo heads on short pedun- 

 cles. Rays showy, pale blue. Leaves with tho petiolo 5 to 10' long. Branch 

 leaves smaller, nearly entire. Sept. Nov. 



20 A. laevis L. Very smooth; st. angular; branches simply \-fiowered; Ivs. 

 half-clasping, oblong, entire, shining, radical subserrate, lanceolate, upper auri- 

 clcd at base; invol. closely imbricate, the scales broadly linear, rigid, thickened 

 and herbaceous at tho apex ; ach. glabrous. A. very smooth and beautiful species, 

 2 to 3f high, growing in low grounds. St. polished, green, often somewhat 

 glaucous; Ivs. rather fleshy, tho lowest tapering to a winged petiole. Fls. large 

 and showy, with numerous rays of a fino bluo becoming purple. Sept. Nov. 

 (A. nmtabilis L. A. amplexicaulis Muhl.) 



ft. L.EVIGATUS. Lvs. long, linear-lanceolate. (A. Isevigatus Willd.) 

 y. CYANEUS. St and Ivs. conspicuously glaucous. (A. cyaneus Ph.) Beau- 

 tiful varieties, especially the latter. 



21 A concinnus Willd. not of Necs. St. simple, paniculate or racemous, pubes- 

 cent ; Ivs. lanceolate and lanes-linear, narrowed and clasping at the base, remotely 

 serrate, upper ones entire. Invol. closely imbricate, scales green at the tip. 

 Woods, N. States. A slender species 1 to 2f high. Branches of the panicle 

 rather short and romoto. Lvs. 3 to 5' long, acuminate, varying from to 1', in 

 width, smooth except tho midvein beneath, branch Ivs. few and much smaller. 

 Hds. middle size, with 10 to 15 bluish-purplo rays. Sept Nov. 



22 A. sericeus Vent. Sts. slender, clustered, glabrous below, silky, pubescent, 

 branched above ; Ivs. clothed on both sides with a dense, appressed, silky-canes- 

 cent tomentum, lance-oblong, entire, acute and mucronate, sessile; hds. large, 

 ^mostly solitary, terminal on the slwrt, leafy branchlets; scales lanceolate, silky- 

 canescent like the Ivs., spreading at tip; ach. smooth. A singularly elegant 

 Aster, with shining, silvery foliage, prairies and river banks, Wise, and Iowa to 

 Miss. St 1 to 2f high. Lower Ivs. 2 to 3' by 9 to 16", the upper much smaller. 

 Rays deep violet-blue. Pappus fulvous. Aug. Oct. f (A. argenteus MX.) 



23 A. concolor L. St subsimplc, erect, pubescent; Ivs lance-oblong, entire, 

 mucronate, grayish, with a minute, silky pubescence both sides, upper ones cus- 

 pidate-acuminate; rac. terminal, virgate, simple or somewhat compound, elon- 

 gated; scales lanceolate, silky, acute, appressed; ach. vittous. Pine barrens, N. 

 J. to Fla. A slender and virgato plant, 1 to 3f high, sometimes branched below. 

 Rt. often tuberous. Lvs. l' by ' t reduced in size upwards. Hds. in a long 

 rac., with purple rays and a rust-colored pappus. Aug. .Nov. Resembles a 

 Liatris. 



