COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite. 



A common species on dry ground, with 



ovate-oblong, stemless leaves, heart-shaped 



Aster patens a ^ the ^ ase an d clasping the main stem, 



Light violet- toothless or nearly so, but rough on the 



purple edge and on the upper surface. Stem 



August- rough-hairy, slender, and widely branched. 



Flowers with 20-30 light violet-purple rays 



nearly -| inch long, and spreading, pointed, green tips 



beneath. 1-3 feet high. In dry open places, from Mass., 



south, and west to northern N. Y. and Minn. 



An aster easily recognized by its remark- 

 able broad - stemmed leaf which is heart- 

 Aster shaped where it clasps the plant-stem ; 



undulatus some leaves are pointed heart-shaped, and 

 Light violet the upper ones have an undulating mar- 



gin> Stems stiff and ver > r rou g n - Flow- 

 ers light blue-violet, with 9-15 rays. 1-3 

 feet high. In dry places and on shaded roadsides. Com- 

 mon everywhere. 



A familiar, small-flowered aster with 

 eart= eave variable leaves. Stem slender, smooth, 

 A S t er and much branched ; the light green leaves 



cordifolius rough or fine-hairy, and usually pointed 

 Lilac or lighter heart-shaped with large sharp teeth ; the 

 upper ones short-stemmed or stemless, 

 ovate or lance-shaped. The lilac or blue- 

 lavender flowers, about | inch broad, with 10-20 rays, 

 are crowded in dense clusters like those of the lilac ; the 

 disc-florets turn magenta or madder purple with age. 

 1-4 feet high. Common everywhere. This aster presents 

 a great variety of forms ; there is one among the foot- 

 hills of the White Mountains, Campton and Plymouth, 

 scarcely 8 inches high, with white flowers and smooth, 

 narrow, lance-shaped leaves ; the established var. Fur- 

 bishise (Fernald) is distinguishsd for its long soft-hairy 

 stem and leaf-stalks, the leaves somewhat so beneath ; 

 New Brunswick, Me., and N. H. Also Dr. Britton 

 recognizes several other varieties. The var. polycephalus, 

 also commonly distributed, has leaves squared or else 

 narrowed at the base 



488 



