426 ORDER 70. COMPOSITE. 



the branches pubescent in lines ; Ivs. subclasping, lanceolate and lance-linear, taper- 

 pointed or very acute, coriaceous, rough-edged, the lower subserrate ; hds. largo, 

 racemed or subcorymbed; scales about 3 rows, subequal. acute, erect, shorter 

 than the disk ; ach. pubescent. X. Eng. to Va. (Pursh), more common westward 

 to Wis. and Iowa. Comprehends many smooth and elegant varieties, which \vo 

 vainly try to separate. Bt 2 to 4f high. Lower Ivs. 3 to 5' long. Rays blue, 

 expanding 9 to 12". Aug. Oct. (A. laxifolius Xees. A. sestivus Ait.) 



j3. I^ETIFLORUS. Slender ; branches divergent ; Ivs. rigid, long and narrow, 



scabrous; rac. loose, tho ped. nearly leafless. Ohio, Wis. Beautiful, with 



long, pale purple rays. (A. salicifolius Willd.) 

 y. PRJ2ALTUS. Strict, with erect brandies, bearing the leafy clusters near tho 



summit ; Ivs. very narrow, elongated, cilio-serrulato on the margin. N. H. 



to Wis. Height 3 to 4f. Hds. somewhat smaller. (A. prsealtus Poir.) 



40 A. longifolius Lam. Glabrous; sfc. very branching, branches spreading, 

 many-flowered; Ivs. subamplexicaul, linear-lanceolate, entire (the lowest rarely 

 subserrate), very smooth ; scales lancaolato, nearly equaling the disk, the outer 

 loosely squarrous-spreading ; ach. smooth. Fields and thickets, Mass., N. Y., to 

 Car. St. 3f high. Lvs. pale below, shining above, smooth both sides, the lower 

 ones 4 to 6' long. Hds. numerous, showy, with 25 to 30, light-blue rays. Ach. 

 twice longer than in the last. Oct., Nov. -Some specimens are minutely pubes- 

 cent at the tops of the branches. Others have the outer scales quite leaf-like. 

 (A. Ia3vigatus Ph. A. laxus Willd. A. clodes T. & G.) 



41 A. graminifoliua Ph. Subpubescent; st. slender, branches filiform, erect; 

 lower Ivs. very numerous, narrow-linear ; ped. slender, 1 -flowered ; scales linear- 

 subulate, loose, in one or two rows, equal, finally refiexed. N. H. (Eddy.) High 

 cliffs, Willoughby Lake, Vt. ; also on an island in Wait's River, Bradford, Vt. r 

 1860. Branches simple, leafy, naked at the end, 1-flowered, somewhat corymb- 

 ous. Kays 15 to 25, much longer than the disk, purple or rose-colored. Jn., JL 

 Rare and interesting, very different in aspect from any of the foregoing. 



4. SCARIOSI. WHITE-SCALED ASTERS. 



42 A. acuminatus MX. St. simple, flexuous, angular, branching into a corymb- 

 ous panicle above; Ivs. broad-lanceolate, narrowed and entire at the base, serrate 

 and acuminate ; invol scales lax, linear. Mts. woods, Can., N. Eng., N. Y. Stem 

 a foot high, rough, downy. Leaves large, unequally and remotely serrate above, 

 and ending in a long, acuminate point. Panicle coryrnbous, terminal, few- 

 flowered, nearly or quite naked. Tho leaves aro mostly situated just below the 

 corymb, sometimes scattered. Heads rathor large, with about 15 long, white 

 rays. Aug. 



43 A. nemoralia Ait. Branches corymbed or 0; ped. 1-flowered, nearly naked, 

 filiform ; Ivs. narrowly lanceolate, acute at each end, veinless, subentive ; scales 

 very acute, loose, shorter than the disk; rays long, about 20. A handsome plant, 

 in swampy woods, N. H., Mass, to N. J. Rather rare. Stem slender, 10 20' 

 high. Leaves numerous, 10 18" by 2 4", rarely subdentate. Heads large, 

 few, often but one, terminating the simple axis or branches. Rays large, white 

 or pale purple. Sept., Oct. 



44 A. ptarmicoides T. & G-. St. corymbous-fastigiate above ; Ivs. linear-lanceo- 

 late, acute, rough-margied, entire, lower ones dentate, attenuated into a short, 

 petiole ; rays short. A very distinct Aster, low and leafy, found in rocky soils, 

 by streams and lakes, Vt. (Robbins) to Mo. Rare. Stems clustered, simple, each 

 bearing a spreading panicle of heads, which are below the middle size, and fur- 

 nished with snow-white rays. July Sept. (Heliastrum, DC.) 



45 A. flexttosus Nutt. St. branching, slender, flexuous, very smooth; Ivs. long 

 and succulent, the lower ones sublanceolate-linear, upper ones subulate ; branches 

 leafy, 1-flowered ; invol scales lanceolate, acuminate, appressed ; rays numerous, 

 shorter than the involucre ; ach. subpubescent. Grows in salt marshes, Mass, to 

 Flor. The whole plant very smooth, If high, with large, purple flowers; disk 

 yellow. Aug. Oct. 



46 A. Chapmanii Torr. & Gr. Glabrous ; st. strict, slender, corymbous at sum- 

 mit; branches filiform, 1-flowered; Ivs. linear-subulate, appressed, numerous; 



