PLANTS GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 255 



A. spectdbilis^ low showy aster, is one of the prettiest of the 

 aster family. It is not so tall as its proud relatives of the 

 swamps ; but its ray-flowers are longer and of a violet purple 

 that any monarch might envy. It is the beauty of the sandy 

 soil all along the coast from New Hampshire to New Jersey 

 and southward where it lifts its regal head until the frost-biting 

 breath of winter causes it to languish. The leaves are long 

 and pointed. 



A. miiUiflbrus, white wreath aster, Plate CXXXIII, is the little 

 white one that skips along the sandy soil with A. spectabilis. 

 Its flower-heads are about one-half an inch in breadth, very nu- 

 merous and very pretty. They have a crisp, pert expression that 

 enlivens many a bunch of their more pretentious sisters. The 

 upper leaves are linear with a broader clasping base. 



A. surcitlhsus, creeping aster, and A. gracilis, slender aster, are 

 two violet species that are generally found from New Jersey 

 southward. The pappus of each of them is nearly white. 



SWEET GOLDEN-ROD. 



Solidago odbra. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Composite, Dull yellow. Leaves scejited Maine southward. Late sujumer and 

 like anise. early autujnn. 



The flowers of this golden-rod are not very attractive, but 

 the leaves are well formed and shiny with smooth edges. 

 They are known to yield a volatile oil. In the pine barrens of 

 New Jersey and the sandy edges of thickets, the species is very 

 common. S. juncea, page 136, Plate LXIX. 



S, tortifoiia, twisted-leaf golden-rod, has a slender stem, with 

 linear sessile leaves that are veined and have a distinct midrib. 

 Their peculiarity is that they are so often twisted. It is found 

 in sandy soil near the coast and mostly from Virginia to 

 Florida. 



