39 



COMPOSITAE. 



[Voi,. III. 



15. Erigeron vernus (L.) T. & G. 

 Early Fleabane. (Fig. 3825.) 



Aster vermis L. Sp. PI. S76. 1753. 



Erigeron nudicaulis Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 124. 

 1803. 



Erigeron vernus T. & G. Fl. N. A. 2: 176. 1S41. 



Perennial by stolons and offsets; stem slender, 

 simple or branched above, glabrous, or the 

 branches pubescent, i-2j4 high. Leaves 

 mainly in a basal rosette, glabrous, obovate, 

 oval or spatulate, obtuse, repand-denticulate or 

 entire, 2'-\' long, narrowed into margined pet- 

 ioles; stem-leaves mostly reduced to subulate- 

 lanceolate scales, the lowest sometimes spatu- 

 late or oblong; heads not numerous, corymbose, 

 peduncled, about 5" broad; involucre hemi- 

 spheric, its bracts linear-subulate; rays 20-30, 

 white or pink, 2 // ~3 // long; pappus simple; 

 achenes usually 4-nerved. 



In marshes and moist soil, Virginia to Florida and 

 Louisiana. April-May. 





16. Erigeron acris L. Blue or Bitter 

 Fleabane. (Fig. 3S26.) 



Erigeron acris L. Sp. PI. 863. 1753. 



Biennial or perennial; stem hirsute-pubescent, 

 slender, simple, or branched above, 6 / -i8 / high. 

 Leaves pubescent or glabrous, entire, the basal and 

 lower ones spatulate, mostly obtuse, i / -3 / long, 

 petioled, those of the stem mostly oblong or oblan- 

 ceolate, obtuse or acutish, sessile, shorter; heads 

 several or numerous, racemose or paniculate, pe- 

 duncled, S // ~^ >// bro'ad; involucre hemispheric, its 

 bracts linear, hirsute; rays numerous, purple, 

 equalling or slightly exceeding the brownish pap- 

 pus; tubular pistillate flowers filiform, numerous; 

 pappus simple or nearly so, copious. 



Labrador to British Columbia, south in the Rocky 

 Mountains to Colorado and Utah. Also in Europe and 

 Asia. July-Aug. 



Erigeron acris Droebachianus (O. F. Mueller) Blytt, 

 Norg. Fl. 1:562. 1861. 



Erigeron Droebachianus O. F. Mueller, Fl. Dan. pi. S74. 1782. 



Usually taller and less pubescent, orglabrate; involucre nearly glabrous, 

 western Ontario, Alaska, British Columbia and Colorado. Also in Europe. 



Erigeron acris debilis A. Gray, Syn. Fl. 1: Part 2, 220. 1884. 



Slightly pilose -pubescent, very slender, heads few. Range of the last. 



New Brunswick to 



36. LEPTILON Raf. Am. Month. Mag. 2: 268. 18 18. 

 [Caenotus Raf. Fl. Tell. 2: 50. 1S36.] 

 Annual or biennial herbs, with small racemose thyrsoid or panicled heads of white flow- 

 ers, the rays small, usually shorter than the diameter of the disk, or none. Involucre mostly 

 campanulate, its narrow bracts in 2 or 3 series. Receptacle naked. Ray-flowers pistillate; 

 disk-flowers perfect, their corollas usually 4-lobed or 4-toothed, the anthers obtuse at the base; 

 style-branches somewhat flattened, their appendages short. Achenes flattened. Pappus of 

 numerous simple fragile bristles in 1 series. [Greek, referring to the small heads.] 



About 20 species, natives of America and Asia. Besides the following, 2 or 3 others occur in 

 the southwestern United States and one is naturalized from Asia on the southern Atlantic ard Pacific 

 coasts. 



