COMPOSITE FAMILY. Composite. 



Large=Ieaved 

 Aster 



Aster 



macrophyllus 

 Lilac 

 August- 

 September 



A stout, stiff, purplish-stemmed species 

 with few, rough, large, 4-8 inches long, 

 closely toothed, basal leaves, the upper 

 ones ovate, almost stemless, and sharp, 

 pointed. Flowers about an inch broad, 

 with 10-16 bluish lilac, or rarel}' lilac- white, 

 rays ; disc-fiowers turning madder brown 

 with age. 2-3 feet high. Common in damp thin woods 

 or on dry banks. Me., south to S. Car., west to Minn. 

 Show Aster ^ ^^^^ handsome species found only 

 Aster spectahilis''^^^^ ^^1® coast, with but few showy, deep 

 Violet blue- violet flowers about as broad as a fifty- 



August- cent piece, with 15-25 rays often | inch 



October long. The olive green leaves, mostly 



toothless, are oblong lance-shaped and rough. The stiff, 

 generally simple stem, 1-2 feet high, is slightly rough 

 below. Sandy soil. Mass. to Del. 



A low slender species with few large, 

 violet-blue flowers and a rough stem and 

 leaf, the latter dark green, stemless, sharply 

 toothed, strongly veined, and oblong lance- 

 shaped. The upper leaves closely clasp the 

 stem. The flowers with about 22 rays 

 nearly | inch long. 1-2 feet high. In wet situations 

 and moist shady copse borders. Me., south to Del. and 

 the Pocono Mts., Pa. , generally near the coast. A dwarf 

 form, var. striciii^, has nearly entire leaves and-usually 

 solitary flowers ; White Mountains, N. K. 



A familiar and common species with 

 numerous handsome flowers about an inch 

 broad, which vary from light violet to 

 light purple or white, and in the var. 

 roseus to magenta. The stem stout, 

 branched, and rough ; the olive green, 

 soft- hairy leaves lance-shaped, toothless, 

 thin, and clasping the stem by a broad 

 base rounded at either side. The flowers, rarely larger 

 than a silver quarter, have usually 30-40 narrow rays, 

 and terminate the branches in large clusters. 2-6 feet 

 high or higher. Frequently cultivated ; common north- 

 ward, and south to S. Car. 



486 



Rough=Ieaved 

 Aster 



Aster radula 

 Violet 

 August- 

 September 



New England 

 Aster 



Aster 



Novce-Angliai 

 Purple or 

 magenta 

 August- 

 October 



