COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite 



A stou^, stiff, purplish-stemmed species 



with few ' rou g h > lar S e > 4 ~ 8 inches long, 

 closely toothed, basal leaves, the upper 

 macrophyllus ones ovate, almost stemless, and sharp- 

 Lilac pointed. Flowers about an inch broad, 

 August- with 10 _ 16 bluish lilac or rare iy lilac- white, 

 September . _ 



rays ; disc-no \vers turning madder brown 



with age. 2-3 feet high. Common in damp thin woods 

 or on dry banks. Me., south to S. Car., west to Minn. 

 Show Aster ^ ver ^ handsome species found only 

 Aster spectabilis' nesir ^ ne coast, with but few showy, deep 

 Violet blue-violet flowers about as broad as a fifty- 



August- cent piece, with 15-25 rays often inch 



long. The olive green leaves, mostly 

 toothless, are oblong lance-shaped and rough. The stiff, 

 generally simple stem, 1-2 feet high, is slightly rough 

 below. Sandy soil. Mass, to Del. 



A low slender species with few large, 

 Rough-leaved .,,,, , 



Aster violet-blue flowers and a rough stem and 



Aster radula leaf, the latter dark green , stemless , sharply 

 Violet toothed, strongly veined, and oblong lance- 



shaped. The upper leaves closely clasp the 

 stem. The flowers with about 22 rays 

 nearly \ inch long. 1-2 feet high. In wet situations 

 and moist shady copse borders. Me. , south to Del. and 

 the Pocono Mts. , Pa. , generally near the coast. A dwarf 

 form, var. strictus, has nearly entire leaves and usually 

 solitary flowers ; White Mountains, N. H. 



A familiar and common species with 

 New England numerous handsome flowers about an inch 

 8 t er broad, which vary from light violet to 



Novce-Anglice light purple or white, and in the var. 

 Purple or roseus to magenta. The stem stout, 



magenta branched, and rough ; the olive green, 



October soft-hairy leaves lance-shaped, toothless, 



thin, and clasping the stem by a broad 

 base rounded at either side. The flowers, rarely larger 

 than a silver quarter, have usually 30-40 narrow rays, 

 and terminate the branches in large clusters. 2-6 feet 

 high or higher. Frequently cultivated ; common north- 

 ward, and south to S. Car. 



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