342 COMPOSITE. Aster. 



•♦♦•• Heads (middle-sized or small) mostly racemose : scales of the involucre imbricated anil unequal in length, mcmbranaeeo- 

 kabaceous, irilh short apprcsfcil or somcvhal sprcadin<: {not sipiarrosc) greenish lips; ram usually pale or while, often 

 small: stems at length much Irranehed, racemose or paniculate: leaves serrate or entire (tlie radical ones spatulaU:, 

 obovate or oblong) ; the cauline sessile, usually tapering at the base. 



12. Aster dumosus, Linn. Bushy Aster. 

 Stem smooth or slightly scabrous-pubescent, racemosely branched or decompound ; the 



heads solitary at the extremity of the spreading branchlets, or rarely somewhat racemed ; 

 leaves linear, crowded, smooth with rough margins, sessile ; the lower cauline ones linear- 

 lanceolate, often remotely serrate with small and sharp appressed teeth ; those of the branch- 

 lets small and mucronulate ; scales of the involucre linear-spatulate, obtuse (or sometimes 

 abruptly and slightly mucronulate), closely imbricated in 4 - 6 series. — Torr. <^ Gr, fl. N. 

 Am. 2. J). 128. 



var. l.vcrus: paniculate-racemose; the branchlets clothed with numerous linear-oblong 

 and obtuse (obscurely mucronulate) small and spreading leaves ; the upper cauline leaves 

 frequently obtuse. Torr. <^ Gr. I. c. A. dumosus, Li/in. sp. 2. p. 873 ; Bigel. Jl. Bost. 

 p. 311. 



var. 2. striclior : leaves sparingly paniculate or racemose-compound ; leaves usually more 

 or less acute , the lower ones often slightly serrate ; those of the short branches rather nu- 

 merous, scarcely spreading. Torr. <Sf Gr. I. c. 



var. 3. suhracemosus : stem racemose-compound ; the heads often somewhat racemed ; 

 leaves mostly acute , the cauHne ones often remotely serrulate ; those of the branches more 

 scattered, slender and proportional, acute ; scales of the involucre rather narrower, often 

 slightly acute. Torr. ^ Gr. I. c. A. dumosus, Nees, Ast. p. 105. A. foliosus. Ait. Kew. 

 (ed. l.)3. p. 202? 



Stems 1-3 feet high. Lower leaves 2-3 inches long, 2-5 lines wide, diminishing in 

 size to the branchlets, where they are 2-3 lines long and very narrow. Heads mostly about 

 one-fourth of an inch in diameter, scattered. Exterior scales much shorter than the inner 

 ones. Rays 20 - 30, short, pale purple or nearly while. Achcnia slightly and minutely 

 pubescent. 



Shady bushy places, and in open woods ; common. August - October. A polymorphous 

 species, of which several varieties, besides those here described, occur in other parts of the 

 United States. 



13. Aster Tradescanti, Linn. Tradescanfs Aster. 



Stem slender, often somewhat pubescent, much branched ; the (small) heads numerous, 

 usually densely racemose on the erect-spreading or at length diverging virgate branches, often 

 unilateral ; leaves sessile, smooth, with rough margins ; the cauline ones lanceolate-linear, 

 elongated, mucronate-acute or acuminate, remotely serrate in the middle with fine and sharp 

 teeth ; the upper, and those of the branches, successively shorter and usually entire, mucronu- 



