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ASPARAGUS ASTER. 



with erect hairy stems, branched at 

 the top, 1 to 2 ft. high. Flowers, in 

 summer ; bright orange, in umbels, 

 disposed in a terminal sub-corymb. 

 Leaves, scattered, oblong-lance-shaped, 



hairy. North America. Borders, 



or margins of shrubberies, in peaty, 

 or light sandy soil. Division or seed, 

 which sometimes ripens in this 

 country. 



Asparagus Broussoneti (Giant A.} 

 A climbing asparagus, 10 ft. high. 

 flowers, in summer ; inconspicuous, 

 followed by small red berries ; 

 stem tapering, streaked, shrubby. 

 Lower leaves solitary, the others 

 ternate, an inch long, needle-shaped, 

 persistent, distant from each other, 

 glaucescent : stipules with reflected 

 spines at the base ; root fasciculate, 

 with oblong, white tubers. Canary 



Islands and North Africa. For 



rustic bowers, stumps, poles, etc., in 

 deep soil. Division. 



Asperula odorata (Sweet Woodruff}. 

 A dwarf perennial, with erect stems, 

 6 to 12 in. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 white, small, in terminal corymbs. 

 Leaves, mostly 8 in a whorl, (some- 

 times, but rarely, 6, 7, or 9,) lance- 

 shaped, smooth, slightly rough at the 

 edges. Fruit roundish, and very hairy. 

 The plant has a delicious hay-like 

 odour when dried. Europe, Siberia, 



and plentiful in Britain. Margins 



of shrubberies, in ordinary soil. Divi- 

 sion in autumn or winter. 



Asphodelus luteus (Yellow A.) Pro- 

 bably the finest of its family, 2 to 4 ft. 

 high. Flowers, in summer ; yellow, 

 fragrant, in a dense, very long, straight, 

 slender cluster, in the axils of buff- 

 coloured bracts, nearly as long as the 

 flowers. Leaves, numerous, awl- 

 shaped, triangular, furrowed, smooth, 

 glaucescent, dilated at the base into a 

 membranous sheath ; root-leaves united 

 in a tuft. Root, fibrous, yellowish. 



Native of S. Europe and N. Africa. 

 There is a variety with double flowers. 

 Borders and fringes of shrub- 

 beries, in ordinary good garden soil, 

 but best and strongest in deep and 

 dry sandy loam. 



Asphodelus ramosus (Great A.) A 

 bold and striking tuberous -rooted pe- 

 rennial, 3 to 5 ft. high. Flowers, in 

 summer ; large, white, with a reddish- 

 brown line in the middle of each petal, 

 springing from the axils of oval-lan- 

 ceolate bracts, and in very long dense 

 clusters. Leaves, sword-shaped, stiff, 

 keeled, spreading, of a dull green, 

 about 2 ft. long. Root, fasciculate, 

 tuberous. Native of S. Europe, N. 



Africa, and the Canary Islands. 



Similar positions and treatment to 

 those for the preceding kind. 



Aster alpinus (Blue Daisy}. A pu- 

 bescent or hairy minute species, the 

 single blue heads of which scattered 

 over the grass in high alpine meadows 

 look like blue daisies. In gardens it 

 grows larger, and forms vigorous leafy 

 tufts from 6 to 10 in. high. Flowers, in 

 early summer ; blue, 1 to 2 in. across. 

 Leaves, entire, somewhat spoon-shaped, 

 rough with hairs. Alpine ranges of 

 northern hemisphere. There is a 

 white var. Mixed borders and rock- 

 work ; it is occasionally used as a 

 bedding plant on the Continent. An 

 interesting subject for naturaliza- 

 tion in an upland meadow. Division 

 and seed. 



Aster altaicus (Great-floivered Aster). 

 A dwarf, very pubescent species, with 

 mauve-coloured flowers, nearly 2 in. 

 across, and with a yellow disk f in. in 

 diameter. Flowers, in early summer ; 

 few, in partial or imperfect corymbs. 

 Upper leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, 

 ciliated. Native of the Siberian part 



of the Altai Mountains. Borders 



and rough rockwork, or banks, in ordi- 

 nary soil. Division and seed. 



