COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite. 



florets, in terminal clusters, furnish an abundance of 

 nectar for the visiting honeybee the rule with all Eu- 

 patoriums and Vernonias. 2-5 feet high. Common 

 everywhere on wet ground. 



The most attractive and graceful mem- 



Snakeroot ^ er ^ ^ n * s g enerauv coarse genus. The 

 Eupatorium large-toothed leaves are deep green, 

 urticcefoiium smooth, thin, slender-stemmed, and nearly 

 White heart-shaped. Flowers white (not dull) 



u ^~ and peculiarly downy, like the garden 



Ageratum. 1-4 feet high. Rich woods 

 and copses. Me., south to Ga., and west to S. Dak., 

 Neb. , and La. 



A very similar species with short- 



Eupatorium stemme d leaves, dull-toothed and blunt- 

 aromaticum . 



pointed ; the flowers a trifle larger. Near 



the coast, from Mass, to Ga. The name is misleading 

 it is not aromatic. 



A tall, stout, handsome species belong- 

 ing to a beautiful genus. The showy 

 Liatris scariosa flower-spike set with magenta-purple to 

 Magenta** pale violet, tubular, perfect flowers, the 



purple heads sometimes f inch broad. Leaves 



deep green, hoary, narrow lance-shaped, 

 September 



and alternate-growing. Ine flowers ex- 

 hibit many aesthetic and variable tints. 2-6 feet high. 

 In dry situations, by roadsides and in fields. Me. , south, 

 and west to S. Dak. and Tex. 



A lower species (beginning to bloom in 



June) with smooth or often hairy, stiff, 



linear leaves, and with the few flowers on 

 the spike bright magenta-purple and fully an inch long ; 

 the scales enveloping them are leaflike with sharp, spread- 

 ing tips. 6-22 inches high. Pa., south, and west to S. 

 Dak. and Tex. 



A commoner species, smooth or nearly 



Liatns with linear leaves and a closely set 



svicata _ ., ,, , , . , 



flower-spike sometimes fully 14 inches 



long ; the flowers, about ^ inch broad, range from pur- 

 ple to violet or rarely to white. 2-5 feet high. Moist 

 low ground. Mass. , south, and west to S. Dak. and Ark. 



470 



