426 Order fO.— COMPOSIT^^ 



ihe branches pubescent in lines ; \vs. subclasping, lanceolalo and lanoo-linear, tapcr- 

 poiuted or very acute, coriaceous, rough-edged, the lower suhserrate ; hds. large, 

 racemed or subcorymbod; scales about 3 rows, subequal, acute, erect, sLortcr 

 than the disk ; ach. puhescent. — N. Eng. to Va. (Pursh), more commoa -vvestwari! 

 to Wis. and Iowa. Comprehends many smooth and elegant varieties, which wo 

 vainly try to separate. St. 2 to 4f high. Lower Ivs. Z to 5' long. Eays blue, 

 expanding 9 to 12". Aug. — Oct. (A. laxifolius Sees. A, testivus Ait.) 



/y. L.ETiPL6EtJS. Slender ; branches divergent ; Ivp. rigid, long and narrow, 



scabrous; rac. loose, the ped. nearly leafless. — Ohio, Wis. Beautiful, with 



long, pale purple rays. (A. salicifolius Willd.) 

 y. pEjEALTUS. Strict, with erect branches, bearing Iho leafy clusters near the 



summit ; Ivs. very narrow, elongated, cilio-serrulato on the margin. — N. H. 



to Wis. Height 3 to 4f. Hds. somewhat smaller. (A. prsealtus Poir.) 

 40 A. longifolius Lam. Glabrous; st. very branching, branches spreading, 

 many-flowered; Ivs. subamplexicaul, lincar-lanoeolato, entire (the lowest rarely 

 subserrate), very smooth ; scales lanceolate, nearly equaling ■ the disk, the outer 

 loosely squarrous-spreading ; ach. smooth. — Fields and thickets, Mass., N. Y., to 

 Car. St. 3f high. Lvs. pale below, shining above, smooth botli sides, the lower 

 ones 4 to 6' long. Hds. numerous, showy, with 2.5 to 30, light-blue rays. Ach. 

 twice longer than in the last. Oct., Nov. — Some specimens are minutely pubes- 

 cent at the tops of the branches. Others have the outer tcales quite leaf-like. 

 (A. liEvigatus Ph. A. laxus ^Yim. A. olodes T. & G.) 

 11 A. gramiuifdlius Ph. Subpubescent ; st. slender, branches filiform, erect; 

 lower lvs. very numerous, narrow-linear ; ped. slender, 1 -flowered; scales Mnear- 

 subulate, loose, in one or two rows, equal, finally reflexed. — N. H. (Eddy.) High 

 cliHs, Willoughby Lake, Tt. ; also on an island in Wait's Eiver, Bradford, Vt., 

 1860. Branches simple, leafy, naked at the end, 1 -flowered, somewhat corymb- 

 ous. Kays 16 to 25, much longer than the disk, purplo or rose-colored. Jn., Jl. 

 — Raro and interesting, very different in aspect from any of the foregoing. 



§ 4. SCAEIOSI. "White-scaled Astees. 



42 A. acumin^tus Mx. St. simple, flexuous, angular, branching into a corymb- 

 ous panick above ; lvs. broad-lonceolate, narrowed and entire at tho base, serrate 

 and acuminate ; invol. scales lax, Mnear. — Mts. woods. Can., N. Eng., N. Y. Stem 

 a foot high, rough, downy. Leaves largo, unequally and remotely serrate above, 

 and ending in a long, acuminate point. Panicle corymbous, terminal, few- 

 iiowerod, nearly or quite naked. Tho leaves are mostly situated just below tho 

 corymb, sometimes scattered. Heads rather large, with about 15 long, white 

 rays. Aug. 



43 A. nemordlis Ait. Branches corymbed or ; ped. 1-flowered, nearly naked, 

 filiform ; irs. narrowly lanceolate, acute at each end, veinless, suberdive ; scales 

 very acute, loose, shorter than the disk; 7-ays long, about 20. — A handsome plant, 

 in swampy woods, N. H., Mass. to N. J. Rather rare. Stem slender, 10 — 20' 

 liigh. Leaves numerous, 10 — 18" by 2 — 4", rarely subdenlate. Heads large, 

 lew, often but one, terminating tho simjjle axis or branches. Rays large, white 

 or pale purple. Sept., Oct. 



44 A. ptarmicoides T. & G. St. corymbous-fastif/iate above ; lvs. linear-lanceo- 

 late, acute, rough-margiaed, entire, lower ones dentate, attenuated into a short 

 petiole ; raijs short. — A very distinct Aster, low and leafy, found in rocky soils, 

 jy streams and lakes, Tt. (Robbins) to Mo. Rare. Stems clustered, simple, each 

 bearing a spreading panicle of heads, which arc below tho middle size, and fur- 

 ui,Aed with snow-white rays. July — Sept. (Heliastrum, DC.) 



45 A. flexudsus Nult. St. branching, .^lender, flexuous, very smooth ; lvs. long 

 .and succulent, the lower ones sublanceolate-linear, upper ones subulate; branches 

 i'.aty, 1-flowered ; invol scales lanceolate, acuminate, appressed ; rays numerous, 

 sliorter than the involucre ; ach. subpubescent. — Grows iu salt marshes, Mass. to 

 -*''lor. The whole plant very smooth. If high, with large, purplo flowers; di.sk 

 yellow. Aug. — Oct. 



46 A. Chapmanii Torr. & Gr. Glabrous ; st. strict, slender, corymbous at sum- 

 mit; branches fihform, Iflowered; lvs. linear-subulate, appreased, numerous; 



