COMPOSITE FAMILY 



CHINA ASTER 



CalUstephus chinlnsis. 



CalUstephus, Greek, from kalliston, most beautiful, and slephane a 

 crown; referring to the double pappus — the "beautiful crown" that 

 surrounds the seeds. 



Stems. — Bristly, branched, two feet high. 

 Leaves. — Oval, coarsely toothed; lower petiolate; upper sessile. 

 Flower-heads. — ^Terminal, radiate two to three inches across; rays 

 red, white, blue, or purple; disk-florets yellow, all fertile. 



The name China Aster is historically correct. This composite 

 was introduced into Europe in 1731 by way of seeds sent to the 

 Jardins des Plantes of Paris, by Father d'Incarville, a Jesuit mis- 

 sionary. 



The typical form was a plant two feet high, each stem bearing 

 a terminal flower-head two and a half to three inches in diameter, 

 consisting of a large central disk of yellow tubular florets and a 

 double or triple row of ray-florets, in color rose-lilac, white, or blue. 

 This type reappears whenever the highly bred forms degenerate. 

 Immediately upon the arrival of this new plant, the French gar- 

 deners set themselves to the task of turning all the disk-florets 

 into ray-florets. They were eminently successful and as this trans- 

 forming process does not affect the fertility of the florets, Aster seeds 

 are very likely to come true to the parent plant. German, English, 

 and latterly American growers have all co-operated in the develop- 

 ment of the Aster, until now there are strains marvellous in beauty 

 of form, at the same time that there has developed a red and a 

 blue color range of exquisite variety and delicacy. So far no yel- 

 low has appeared. 



In the present garden race there are flower-heads whose rays 

 are incurved, others whose rays curve outward, some which rival 

 the show dahlias in regularity, others whose tubular florets have 

 developed in size and varied in color to produce the quilled forms, 

 still others that suggest chrysanthemums by their tousled beauty. 

 Moreover, the last word is by no means said. The simple stem of 



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