ASTER 



ASTER 



113 



Mebhani, Hort., is a well marked form of A. patens, found by 

 Joseph Meehan at Antietaui. *A . .\< n--<-<rruleu8= ]*A.pyr- 

 amidalis^- '. A. Ifd-resii'. 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. 

 polyphyllus." N. Amer. *A. rotundifblius, Thunb.=Felicia. 

 A. 8iUcimtntii Hook. Three to 4 ft., stout and erect: Ivs. 

 lanceolate-aciiminate, spinulose-serrate : heads purple, in large 

 corymbs. Himalayas. B.M. 4557. A. Stracheyi, Hook. Stem- 

 less and sarmentose, with 1-tid. bracted scapes : radical Ivs. 

 spatulate, hairy : heads lilac-blue, 1 in. across. Pretty. Hima- 

 layas. B.M. 6!)! 1 -'. *A. teriin(tli$=* '. A. Townshendii, Hook. 

 =A. Bigelovii, Gray (N. Amer.). L t jj. g 



The native Asters are amongst the very best plants for 

 borders and roadsides. They should be better known. 

 A . (tcinninatus grows well in shade in ordinary soil, not 

 necessarily moist; increases in vigor under cultivation. 

 A. cordifolius prefers open or partial shade ; improves 

 much under cultivation with good soil. A. corymbosus 

 prefers at least partial shade, and will grow even in very 

 deep shade; seeds very freely; does well on dry ledges 

 and in small crevices in rock; very tenacious of life. A. 

 ditniosns prefers full sunlight and dry situation. A. eri- 

 coides wants full sunlight and dry situation ; will grow 

 in very poor or shallow soil, but does best where roots 

 can penetrate deep. A. Icevis grows in either full sun- 

 light or partial shade and good soil. A. Novce-Anglice 

 will not endure much shade ; prefers moist soil, but 

 grows well in ordinary garden situations. Fall-sown 

 seedlings of A. Novae- Anglice, var. roseus, come prac- 

 tically true to varietal name, though varying in shade 

 of color, and these seedlings bloom later than elder 

 plants and at height of 18 inches, making the plant of 

 value as a late bedding plant treated as an annual. A. 

 Novi-Belgii prefers moist soil ; will not endure heavy 

 shade. A. paniculatus prefers moist soil, but will do 

 well in rather dry situations ; will endure more shade 

 than either of the two above species. A. patens wants 

 open or half-shaded places, and good soil ; one of the 

 w 'aker species, often proving short-lived. A.puniceux 

 will not endure shade ; prefers moist places, but will 

 grow in good soil not over moist ; in dry situations it 

 loses its vigor ; spreads rapidly in favored locations. 

 A . spectabilis prefers open or partly shaded places; one 

 of the weaker species in wild state ; rather short-lived. 

 A . undulatus wants open or half shade ; late-flowering, 

 lisuidsome plant, forming large bushes where allowed to 

 develop. A.vimineus, although not in the trade, is a fine 

 plant in cultivation. p w BARCLAY . 



ASTER, CHINA. Callistephus hortensis, Cass. 

 listephus Chine"nsis, Nees. Cnllistemma hortensis, 

 Cass. Aster Sinensis, Hort.). Compdsitce. The genus 

 Callistemma is older than Callistephus, but it is too like 

 Callistemon to stand. B.M. 7616. Gn. 53: 1163. -One of 

 the most popular of all garden annuals, being particu- 

 larly valuable for its fall blooming. The evolution of 

 the China Aster suggests that of the chrysanthemum 

 at almost every point, and it is, therefore, a history of 

 remarkable variations. The plant is native to China. It 

 was introduced into Europe about 1731 by E. P. d'lncar- 

 ville, 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 ligulate 

 florets were of only 2-4 rows. These rays were blue, vio- 

 let or white. The center of the flower (or head) was 

 comprised of very numerous tubular, yellowish florets. 

 Philip Miller, the famous gardener-botanist of Chelsea, 

 Eng., received seeds of the single white and red Asters 

 in 1731, evidently from Prance ; and he received the 

 single blue in 1736. In 1752 he obtained 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 in. or 2 ft. high. 

 Martyn, in 1807, says that in addition to these varieties 

 mentioned by Miller, there had then appeared a "varie- 

 gated blue and white " variety. The species was well 

 known to American gardeners at the opening of this cen- 

 tury. In 1806 M'Mahon, of Philadelphia, mentioned the 

 "China Aster (in sorts)" as one of the desirable garden 

 annuals. Bridgeman, a New York seedsman, offered the 

 China and German Asters in 1837 "in numerous and 

 splendid varieties," specifying varieties "alba, rubra, 



8 



cerulea, striata purpurea, etc." In 1845, Eley said that 

 "China and German Asters ""are very numerous " in New 

 England. This name German Aster records the fact that 

 the first great advances in the evolution of the plant 

 were made in Germany, and the seed which we now use 

 comes largely from that country. The first marked de- 

 parture from the type appears to have been the pro- 

 longation or great development of the central florets of 

 the head, and the production of the "quilled" flower. 

 This type of Aster was very popular 40 and 50 years ago. 

 Breck, in the first edition of his Flower Garden, in 1851, 

 speaks of the great improvement of the Aster "within a 



164. Aster puniceus. 



few years" "by the German florists, and others," and 

 adds that "the full-quilled varieties are the most highly 

 esteemed, having a hemispherical shape, either a pure 

 white, clear blue, purple, rose, or deep red ; or beauti- 

 fully mottled, striped, or edged with those colors, or 

 having a red or blue center." About 50 years ago the 

 habit of the plant had begun to vary considerably, and 

 the progenitors of our modern dwarf races began to at- 

 tract attention. The quilled, high-centered flower of a 

 generation or more ago is too stiff to satisfy the tastes 

 of these later days, and the many flat-rayed, loose and 

 fluffy races are now most in demand, and their popu- 

 larity is usually greater the nearer they approach the 

 form of the uncombed chrysanthemums. The China 

 Aster had long since varied into a wide range of colors 



