COMPOSITE. (COMPOSITE FAMILY.) 2G3 



i- H. scabiosaeus, L'Hcr. Somewhat floccnlent-woolly when young 

 (l°-3° high) ; leaves 1 -2-pinnately parted into linear or oblong lobes ; Bcalea 



of the involucre roundish, nearly all whitish. — Sandy barrens, Illinois and 

 southward. May, June. 



45 i. ACTINELLA, Pers., Xutt. Actixella. 



Heads many-flowered, radiate ; the rays several, wedge-oblong, 3-lobed at the 

 apex or 3-toothed, pistillate. Scales of the hemispherical involucre ovate or 

 lanceolate, membranaceous or coriaceous, nearly equal, appressed in 2 or 3 

 ranks, little shorter than the disk. Receptacle hemispherical or conical, naked. 

 Achenia top-shaped, densely silky-villous. Pappus of 5 or more ovate or lance- 

 olate very thin chaffy scales. — Low herbs, with narrow leaves, dotted or sprin- 

 kled with resinous atoms as in the next genus; the solitary heads terminating 

 scapes or slender naked peduncles; flowers yellow. — Natives of the Western 

 plains, &c., and barely entering our borders. (Name a diminutive of Actinea, 

 from clktIs, ray.) 



1. A. scapbsa, Nutt., var. glabra. Tufted; leaves crowded on the 

 summit of woolly rootstocks, linear or somewhat spatulate, thickish, sparingly 

 silky-hairy, becoming glabrous; scape (3' -9' high) and involucre more woolly, 

 the scales ovate and obtuse; chaffy scales of the pappus ovate, awnless. — 

 Joliet, Illinois, on an Indian mound (Dr. Scammon, W. Boott), and westward. 



46. HELENIUM, L. Sxeeze-weed. 



Heads many-flowered, radiate ; the spreading wedge-shaped rays several, 3 - 

 5-cleft at the summit, fertile. Involucre small, reflexed, the scales linear or 

 awl-shaped. Receptacle globose or oblong, naked. Achenia top-shaped, ribbed. 

 Pappus of 5-8 thin and 1-nerved chaffy scales, the nerve usually extended into 

 a bristle or point. — Erect, branching herbs, with alternate leaves decurrent on 

 the angled stem and branches, which are terminated by single or corymbed 

 (yellow, rarely purple) heads; often sprinkled with bitter and aromatic resin- 

 ous globules. (Named after Helen, the wife of Menelaus.) 



1. H. autumnale, L. (Sneeze-weed.) Nearly smooth, perennial ; 

 leaves lanceolate, toothed ; rays longer than the globular-disk. — Alluvial river- 

 banks : common (except in New England). Sept. — Plant l°-3° high, bitter: 

 the corymbed heads showy. 



47. LEPTOPODA, Nutt. Leptopoda. 



Rays neutral. Otherwise nearly as in Helenium. — In the true species (of 

 which L. pubertda and L. brevijblia may be found in S. Virginia) the stems are 

 simple, and naked above, like a long peduncle, and bearing a single head 

 (whence the name, from Xf7rrds, slender, and novs<foot) ; but the following is 

 leafy to the top, and branched ; and were better restored to Helenium. 



1. L. brachypoda, Torr. & Gr. Stem corymbed at the summit (l°-4° 

 high); leaves oblong-lanceolate, decurrent on the stem; disk globular, brown- 

 ish; rays (i'-f'long) yellow, or in one variety brownish-purple, sometimes 

 with an imperfect style. -*- Damp soil, from Illinois southward. June - Aug. 



