COMPOSITE 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Aster concolor, L. 



Deep lilac-pink Eastern Silvery Aster, 



Lilac-flowered Aster. 

 September-October 



Aster: Greek for a star, in allusion to the radiate heads of 



the flowers. 



Concolor: Latin for combination of colours. 



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



THE PLANT: somewhat prostrate or slightly erect, one 

 foot to two feet long; the stem nearly simple, wand-like; 

 hairless or with few, short hairs above. 



THE LEAVES: crowded; alternate; linear-oblong or lanceo- 

 late; one and a half to two inches long; flattened against 

 the stem; the upper reduced to little bracts; with dense, 

 fine, white hairs on both sides, or the lower practically 

 hairless; obtuse or capped with an abrupt tip at the apex; 

 stemless; entire. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: numerous in a simple or compound 

 wand-like raceme; the involucre obovoid; the bracts 

 lightly and closely over-lapped in several rows; the rays 

 ten to fifteen. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; pappus, bristly. 



One of the most beautifully coloured Asters that we j 

 have, preferring very sandy soil and so found along road- 1 

 sides or almost in the sand dunes. At times, by the shore, | 

 the lacy network of the sprays of flowers waving above! 

 the shorter grasses, is Japanese in its delicacy of colouring. 



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