296 CAKDUACEAE. 



narrowed below the middle, sometimes 15 cm. long: heads usually numerous, 

 3-5 cm. broad, panicled or somewhat racemose on the branches: involucre 

 campanulate; bracts lanceolate, glabrate, rather loose, with herbaceous tips: 

 ray-flowers numerous; ligules purple-blue. Kesembles A. patens; but softer 

 and taller; heads larger; inflorescence narrow; leaves elongate. S. Occa- 

 sional, in thickets and open woods. Schists. 



9. A. Novae-Angliae L. Stems stout, 6-25 dm. tall, hispid, corymbosely 

 branched above, very leafy: leaf -blades oblong-lanceolate, entire, acute, pubes- 

 cent, 5-12 cm. long, each clasping by an auriculate base: heads numerous, 3-5 

 cm. broad, clustered at the ends of the branches: involucre hemispheric; 

 bracts linear-subulate, somewhat unequal, green, spreading, pubescent and 

 more or less glandular-viscid: ray-flowers 40-50; ligules linear, 10-16 mm. long, 

 violet-purple (typically a royal-purple, rarely replaced by rose-color or white) : 

 pappus becoming reddish-white. Lower Susquehanna valley and along tribu- 

 tary creeks. Schists. 



10. A. puniceus L. Stems 9-25 dm. tall, usually stout, purplish, broadly 

 corymbose or racemose above, hispid with hairs arising from a reddened 

 tubercular base: leaf -blades lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 7-15 cm. long, 

 acuminate, sessile and clasping by a broad or narrowed base, sharply serrate 

 (or some upper ones entire), usually very rough above, pubescent on the midrib 

 beneath: heads generally numerous, 2-4 cm. broad: involucre nearly hemi- 

 spheric; bracts linear or oblong, attenuate, in about 2 series, glabrous or 

 ciliate, green, loose, spreading, nearly equal, sometimes broadened: ray-flowers 

 20-40; ligules light-violet (sometimes purplish or pale), 10-14 mm. long, 

 showy : pappus nearly white. Common, in swamps and along streams. 



11. A. prenanthoides Muhl. Stems 3-6 dm. tall, glabrous or pubescent in lines 

 above, flexuous, much branched: leaf -blades thin, oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 

 7-15 cm. long, sharply and coarsely serrate, scabrous above, glabrous or nearly 

 so beneath, acuminate, abruptly narrowed below into a broad-margined entire 

 petiole, the base dilated and auriculate-clasping : heads usually numerous, 25 

 mm. broad or more : involucre hemispheric ; bracts linear, acute, green, spread- 

 ing, in 3 or 4 series, the outer shorter: ray-flowers 20-30; ligules violet, 8-12 

 mm. long : pappus tawny : achenes pubescent. Unlike other asters in its 

 leaf-form, characteristically a suborbicular base and an ovate-acuminate end, 

 connected by a strap-like middle. Lower Susquehanna valley and along tribu- 

 tary creeks. Schists. 



12. A. laevis L. Stems 6-12 dm. tall, usually stout, glabrous, often glaucous, 

 branched or simple: leaf -blades thick and almost leathery, very smooth, entire 

 or with an occasional sharp tooth, slightly rough-margined, the upper all 

 sessile and strongly cordate-clasping, oblong-lanceolate, oblanceolate or ovate, 

 acute or obtusish, 2-10 cm. long; those of the basal and lower cauline leaves 

 gradually narrowed into winged petiolar bases, those of the branches often 

 small and scale-like: heads usually numerous, about 25 mm. broad: involucre 

 campanulate; bracts rigid, acute, appressed, broadly green-tipped, in several 

 series: ray-flowers 15-30; ligules blue or violet: pappus tawny: achenes 

 glabrous or nearly so. Eemarkable among asters for its smooth, cool, polished 

 surfaces. Not very common, in damp soil and thickets. 



13. A. Badula Ait. Stems 3-14 dm. tall, glabrous, or puberulent above, sim- 

 ple or sparingly corymbose: leaves relatively few; blades oblong, varying to 

 lanceolate or oblanceolate, 3-7 cm. long, rough and often rugose above, finely 

 pubescent beneath, serrate, sessile: heads showy, 3.5-4.5 cm. broad: involucre 

 hemispheric; bracts linear or somewhat broader and dilated near the apex, 

 finely pubescent, the tips often recurving in age: ray-flowers 20-30; ligules 

 violet or rose-purple : achenes glabrous : pappus whitish. S. Occasional, in 

 swamps. Schists. 



