Genus 31.] 



THISTLE FAMILY. 



373 



46. Aster spectabilis Ait. 



Low Showy Aster. 

 (Fig. 3780.) 



Seaside Purple Aster. 



Aster spectabilis Ait. Hort. Kew. 3: 209. 17S9. 



Stem stiff, simple, or corymbosely braucbed 

 above, puberuleut, or rough below, more or 

 less glandular above, i-2 high.. Leaves 

 firm, thickish, the basal and lower ones 

 oval, acute or acutish, 3 / -5 / long, i / -ij^ / 

 wide, sparingly dentate with low teeth, nar- 

 rowed at the base into slender petioles; upper 

 leaves sessile, entire or very nearly so, acute, 

 linear-oblong; heads several or numerous, 

 about i)i' broad, corymbose, very showy; 

 involucre nearly hemispheric, its bracts 

 linear-oblong or slightly spatulate, glandular, 

 imbricated in about 5 series, their green ob- 

 tusish tips spreading; rays 15-30, bright vio- 

 let, 6 // -io // long; pappus whitish; achenes 

 slightly pubescent. 



In dry sandy soil, Massachusetts to Delaware, 

 mostly near the coast. Aug.-Oct. 



48. Aster gracilis Nutt. Slender 

 or Tuber Aster. (Fig. 3782.) 



Aster gracilis Nutt. Gen. 2: 158. 1818. 



Stem slender, finely puberulent and 

 scabrous, corymbosely branched above, 

 \-\]/z high. Leaves minutely scabrous, 

 the basal and lower ones oval, acute 

 or obtusish, 2 / ~3 / long, 4 // -8 // wide, 

 dentate, narrowed into slender petioles; 

 upper leaves linear, linear- oblong, or 

 slightly oblanceolate, acute, entire, sessile 

 or a little clasping; heads usually nu- 

 merous, 6 // -io // broad; involucre nar- 

 rowly turbinate, its bracts coriaceous, 

 glabrous or very nearly so, imbricated 

 in about 5 series, their tips green and 

 spreading, obtusish; rays 9-15, violet, $"- 

 4^ // long; pappus nearly white; achenes 

 minutely pubescent. 



In dry sandy soil, New Jersey to Kentucky, 

 Tennessee and North Carolina. Rootstock 

 tuberous-thickened. July-Sept. 



47. Aster surculosus Michx. 

 Creeping Aster. (Fig. 3781.) 



Aster surculosus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 112. 

 1803. 



Stem slender, from elongated-filiform 

 rootstocks, minutely scabrous-pubescent, 

 jo'-iS' high, corymbosely branched above. 

 Leaves firm, lanceolate or linear, the lower 

 petioled, 2 / -3 / long, 4 // -S // wide, rough- 

 margined, slightly scabrous above, sparingly 

 dentate, the upper narrower, sessile, entire; 

 heads few, or sometimes solitary, about 15" 

 broad; involucre turbinate-hemispheric, its 

 bracts coriaceous, imbricated in about 5 se- 

 ries, ciliate, but scarcely glandular, their 

 green tips spreading; rays 15-30, violet; 

 pappus whitish; achenes nearly glabrous. 



In sandy or gravelly soil, North Carolina and 

 Georgia. Reported from New Jersey. Sept. -Oct. 



