COMPOSITE FAMILY 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Liatris scariosa, Wild. 



Magenta-purple Blazing Star, 



Gay Feather, 



August- October Rattle-snake Master, 



Button Snake-root. 



Liatris: derivation unknown. 

 Scariosa: Latin for thorny shrub. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dry, sandy soil of the Commons. 



THE PLANT: erect, two feet high or more; the stem covered 

 with fine, soft, short hairs, at least above. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; the lower oblanceolate, spatulate, 

 or oblong-lanceolate; the upper linear and linear-lanceo- 

 late; all acute or obtusish at the apex; narrowed into 

 margined petioles; thickly dotted with tiny glands. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: hemispheric, sometimes nearly one 

 inch broad, on short stems, or sometimes stemless; bracts 

 of the involucre overlapping in five or six series, varying 

 in shape, round at the apex; their tips dry and chaffy, 

 often coloured. Albinos have been found. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; pappus consisting of bristles. 



In thinking of the earliest fall colouring the Nantucket 

 heaths, one associates with the tinting of the leaves of the 

 Scrub Oak and the Huckleberry, a deep magenta-purple 

 flower, that stands alone or in twos or threes, or more often 

 tints the waving grasses and offers strong colour contrast to 

 the low Goldenrods. Essentially of a stiff and unyielding 

 character, with erect stem and long, linear, drooping 

 leaves, the plant is one and owes its undeniable magnetism 

 to colour and not to graceful form. 



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