Thmib.=^Felic-i! 



ASTER 



ife^Aam', Hort..is a well marked form of A. patens, found by 

 Joseph Meehan at Antietam. — *A. Noice-ccendeus^ !—*A.pt/r- 

 amiddlis= ?— -l. Re^vesii, Hort,. is A. ericoides. var. Reevesii, 

 Gray, a "rigid form, comparatively stout, glabrous, except that 

 the Ivs. are often hispidulous-ciliate toward the base, the heads 

 and rays as large and the latter about 

 polyphyllus." N. Amer.— *A, rotunililiili 

 A. SikHminsis. Hook. Three to 4 ft., st.mt :ina .rcrt : Ivs, 

 lanoeolate-aeuminate, spinulose-senMlr : li. a.N puri-l--. in ];iitie 

 corymbs. Himalayas, B.M, 4,v.7,^.l strarin „, .W^'^'V Stem- 

 less and sarmentose. with 1-11.1. ti!:i'i.-,l sr.ipcs ; T;i,iir,il hs, 

 spatulate, hairy : heads lil.ic-blue. 1 in. acro-^s, Prett.v, Hima- 

 layas. 'B.M.«il2.—*A.terminalis^ '.-A. Tuu-nshendii. Hook, 

 =A. Bigelovii, Gray (N. Amer.), L. H. B. 



The native Aster.s are amongst the very best plants for 

 borders and roadsides. They should be better known. 

 A.acuminaius grows well in shade in ordinary soil, not 

 necessarily moist; increases in vigor under cultivation. 

 A. cordifolitcs prefers open or partial shade ; improves 

 much under cultivation with good soil. A. eori/mbosHS 

 prefers at least partial shade, and will grow even in very 

 deep shade; seeds very freely; does well on dry ledges 

 and in small crevices in rock; very tenacious of life. A. 

 dumnxiis prefers full sunlight awd dry situation. A.ei-i- 

 eoidi's wants full sunlight and dry situation ; will grow 

 in very poor or shallow soil, but does best where roots 

 can penetrate deep. A. l/vvis grows in either full sun- 

 light or partial shade and good soil. A. Nofce-Angliif 

 will not endure much shade ; prefers moist soil, but 

 grows well in ordinary irarden situations. Fall-sown 

 seedlings of A. JS'in;i -J h<ii,,i . var. roseiiii, come prac- 

 tically true to varietal nainc, th"iiL,'h varying in shade 

 of color, and these sinUiiiirs bloom later than older 

 plants and at height of 18 inches, making the plant of 

 value as a late bedding plant treated as an annual. A. 

 Novi-Bel(jii prefers moist soil ; will not endure heavy 

 shade. A. pfinicnlatus prefers moist soil, but will do 

 well in rather dry situations ; will endure more shade 

 than either of the two above species. A. patens wants 

 open or half-shaded places, and good soil ; one of the 

 weaker species, often proving short-lived. A.puuicetis 

 will not endure shade ; prefers moist places, but will 

 grow in good soil not over moist ; in dry situations it 

 loses its vigor ; spreads rapidly in favored locations. 

 A. spectabiUs prefers open or partly shaded places; one 

 of the weaker species in wild state ; rather short-lived. 

 A. vndiilatus wants open or halt shade ; late-flowering, 

 handsome plant, forming large bushes where allowed to 

 develop. A. vhiiineus, although not in the trade, is a fine 

 plant in cultivation. ^ .5^, Baeclat. 



ASTEB, CHINA. CalUstephus horthuis, Cass. {Cal- 

 listephiis Chin^nsis, Nees. Callistemma hortensis, 

 Cass. Aster Sinensis, Hort.). Compdsifw. The genus 

 Callistemma is older than CalUstephus, but it is too like 

 Callistemon to stand. B. II. 7616. Gn. 53: 1163. — One of 

 the most popular of all garden annuals, being particu- 

 larly valuable for its fall blooming. The evolution of 

 the China Aster suggests that of the chrysanthemum 

 at almost every point, and it is, therefore, a history of 

 remarkable variations. The plant is native to China. It 

 was introduced into Europe about 1731 by R. P. d'lncar- 

 ville, a Jesuit missionary in China, for whom the genus 

 Incarvillea of the Bignonia family was named. At that 

 time it was a single flower ; that is, the rays or ligulate 

 florets were of only 2-4 rows. These rays were blue, vio- 

 let or white. The center of the flower (or head) was 

 comprisetl "l" \ 1 r\- nuiiM ri>us tiiimlar. yellowish florets. 

 Philip Mill. ■ ' ■ - , I nlrn., -botanist of Chelsea, 



Enix. . rt-ia : -, 'iTiL'b' white and red Asters 



in 17:!l.rM,, ,i,.i , I ran,,.-; aud he received the 



siiii^lc liliir II, i;:;i;. lu l,.',2 In.- obtained seeds of the 

 dnul.l.. la .1 aii.l lilu.-, aud in 1753 of the double white. 

 At ili.it Tniir Tlirri- ajiiiears to have been no dwarf forms, 

 for .Milirr -a\ - that the plants grew 18 in. or 2 ft. hi.gh. 

 Martyii, in Isn;. stiys that in addition to these varieties 

 mentioned by Miller, there had then ax>p^^i"ed a "varie- 

 gated blue and white " variety. The species was well 

 known to American gardeners at the opening of this cen- 

 tury. In 1806 M'Mahon, of Philadelphia, mentioned the 

 "China Aster (in sorts)" as one of the desirable garden 

 annuals. Bridgeman, a New York seedsman, offered the 

 China and German Asters in 1837 "in numerous and 

 splendid varieties," specifying varieties "alba, rubra. 



ASTER 



113 



cerulea, striata purpurea, etc," In 1843, Eley said that 

 " China and German Asters " " are very numerous " in New 

 England. This name German Aster records the fact that 

 the first great advances in the evolution of the plant 

 were made in Germany, and the seed which we now use 

 comes largely from that country. The first marked de- 

 parture from the type appears to have been the pro- 

 longation or great development of the central florets of 

 the head, and the production of the "quilled" flower. 

 This type of Aster was very popular 40 and 50 years ago. 

 Breck, in the first edition of his Flower Garden, in 1851, 

 speaks of the great improvement of the Aster "within a 



164. Aster pun 



few years" "by the German florists, and others," and 

 adds that "the full-quilled varieties are the most highly 

 esteemed, having a hemispherical shape, either a pure 

 white, clear blue, purple, rose, or deep red ; or beauti- 

 fully mottled, striped, i.>r edged with those colors, or 

 having a red or blue center," About 50 years ago the 

 habit of the plant had begtin to vary considerably, and 

 the progenitors of our modern dwarf races began to at- 

 tract attention. The quilled, high-centered flower of a 

 generation or more ago is too stiff to satisfy the tastes 

 of these later days, and the many flat-rayed, loose and 

 fluffy races are now most in demand, and their popu- 

 larity is usually greater the nearer they approach the 

 form of the uncombed clirysantheraums. The China 

 Aster had long since varied into a wide range of colors 



