Genus 31.] 



THISTLE FAMILY. 



359 



7. Aster curvescens Burgess. 

 Dome-topped Aster. (Fig. 3741.) 



Dark green, chiefly glabrous; rootstocks often 

 io' long; stem pale green, striate, delicate, i^-2 

 high. Basal leaves tufted, conspicuous, these and 

 the lowest stem leaves with a broad shallow sinus ta- 

 pering into a petiole 1-2 times as long as the blade, 

 abruptly incurved-acuminate; middle leaves ovate, 

 short-petioled, rounded at the base, the upper 

 lanceolate, slenderly acuminate, often falcate; , 

 leaves firm, smoothish, the teeth broad, curved; ( 

 inflorescence small, convex, 3 / -5 / broad, its short 

 filiform naked branches widely ascending; heads 

 4 // -5 // high; lower bracts short, obtuse, the others 

 longer, nearly uniform, scarious, shining, linear, 

 often acute, usually glabrous; rays about 8, cream- 

 white, about 5" long; disk becoming purple-brown; 

 pappus early reddening; achenes slender, glabrous. 



In loose moist, shaded soil, New England and New 

 York to Virginia. Aug.-Sept. 



Aster curvescens umbelliformis Burgess. 



Stem very smooth, deep red, robust, straight, some- 

 times 3^ tall; leaves apple-green, smooth when dry, 

 sparingly toothed; inflorescence symmetrically umbelliform, decompound; sinus of the lower 

 leaves rather deep and narrow. In grassy woods and thickets, Connecticut and to Virginia. 



Aster curvescens oviformis Burgess. 

 Stem about 2 I /2 high, leafy; leaves dull green, not acuminate, very thin but rough, ovate, cor- 

 date with a deep narrow sinus, 8' long by 4K' wide, or smaller; some of the bracts broader and 

 green-tipped; inflorescence smaller and less branched. Range of the preceding. 



8. Aster Schreberi Nees. Schreber's 

 Aster. (Fig. 3742.) 



Aster Schreberi Nets, Syn. Ast. 16. 1818. 



Stem stout, 2-3 high, with long internodes. 

 Basal leaves often in extensive colonies, thin, dull 

 green, firm, rough above, with scattered slender ap- 

 pressed bristles, pubescent beneath on the veins, 

 reniform-cordate or cordate-triangular, often -/ long 

 by 5' wide, the basal sinus when well developed rect- 

 angular, 2' across and 1/ deep; upper leaves ovate- 

 oblong to lanceolate, with a short broad basal wing, 

 or sessile; petioles of the lower leaves long, conspic- 

 uously ciliate when young; inflorescence decom- 

 pound, flattish, or irregularly convex, 6 / -i2 / broad; 

 heads about 5" high ; bracts greenish, mostly obtuse, 

 ribs and midrib dark green, ciliate; rays usually 10. 



In borders of woods, and along fence rows in partial 

 shade, New York to Michigan and Virginia. July-Aug. 



9. Aster macrophyllus L. Large- 

 leaved Aster. (Fig. 3743.) 



Aster macrophyllus L. Sp. PL Ed. 2, 1232. 1763. 



Rough; rootstocks long, thick; stem reddish, 

 angular, 2-3 high. Basal leaves forming large 

 colonies, 3 or 4 to each stem, broad, cordate with 

 a large irregular sinus, rough above, harsh, thick, 

 the teeth broad, curved, pointed, the petioles 

 long, narrow; upper stem leaves oblong with 

 short broadly winged petioles, the uppermost 

 sessile, acute; inflorescence strigose and glandu- 

 lar, broadly corymbose, irregular; heads S // ~^ // 

 high; peduncles rigid, thickish; rays about 16, 

 S"~l" hong, chiefly lavender, sometimes violet, 

 rarely pale; bracts conspicuously green-tipped, 

 the lower acute, the inner oblong, obtuse; disk 

 turning reddish brown; florets short-lobed. 



In moderately dry soil, in shaded places, Canada 

 to Minnesota and North Carolina. Aug. 



