Aster. COMPOSIT.E. 195 



(4 to 8 inches long), oblfiij;- or ovate-lanceolate, saliently serrate in the middle, attenuate- 

 acuminate, aud lower hall' or third narrowed as if into a broadlv winged petiole, which is 

 more or less (in most lases con,sijicuousl_\ ) dilated into an auricnlate-clasping base; upper 

 surface minutely scabrous, lower smooth: heads (mostly 4 liues high) on short rather rigid 

 aud divergent peduncles . rays not very numerous, about 5 lines l"ng. pale violet or in shade 

 whitish: brai'ts of involucre narrow and outer more or less >preading — Willd. Sjiec. iii. 

 2046: Xees, Ast. 61; Bariiugt. Fl. Cest. 463; Torr. & Gray, Fl. ii. 142. — M.jist irround 

 e^|iecially along streams, W. Xew England to Penn. and Wisconsin, and throughout (_ anada. 

 The var. scaler, Torr. & (iray. 1. c. (Xew York & Penn. in few specimens, with stem almost 

 liis].iid in the upper part, or el.-e tall and branching), is probably a hybrid with A. pmuceas. 

 k A. puniceus, L. .^tem commonly 3 to 7 feet high, loosely branching above, rather stout, 

 often red or purple (whence the name), hispid with spreading bristles which are taper- 

 pointed from a thickened rigid base (but sometime.^ these are few and sparse): leaves not 

 rigid (3 to 6 inches long), oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, from coarsely and irregularly serrate 

 to sparin^^ly denticulate or sometimes entire, not at all or slightlv narrowed toward the sub- 

 cordate-semiamplexicaul ha^e. commonly scabrous aKove and often hispid along the midrib 

 beneath : heads (4 to 6 lines high) snbsessile, eitlier sparsely paniculate or tliyrsoid-crowded : 

 involucre of kntse and thin s<.>ft and narrowly linear merely herbaceous bracts, with or with- 

 out some larger aud more foliaceous accesscjry ones ; rays half-inch long, violet, varying to 

 purple or occa-^ionally white. — Spec. ii. 875 (Ilort. Cliff., Herra. Lugd. t. 651, &c.); Ait. 

 Kew. iii. 208; Miclix. Fl. ii. 115; Lindl. Bot. Reg. t. 1636 (var. rfemissHs), Torr. & Gray, 

 Fl. ii. 140. .4. hispidus & A. amceiuis, Lam. Diet. i. 306. A. hlandus, Xodd. Bot. Cab. t. 939. — 

 S\\aui]is and loAv thickets, Xova Sicitia and Canada, west to Dakota, and common in the 

 Atlantic .States as far south as X. Carolina and the upper part of Georgia. A common 

 species in cool districts, generally well marked, but running into some ]ieculiar varieties, 

 whicli may mostly be grouped under the following. 



Var. IsBVicaulis. Usually lower, a foot to a yard high : stem mostly green, smooth 

 aud naked below, above with mere traces of the characteristic hispid or hirsute pulies- 

 cence : leaves serrate. — A. hlandus, Pursh, Fl. ii. 5.i5 (SiJauder in herb. Bank-!, appears 

 to be this, but may be A. tardiflorus. A.firmus, Xees, Ast. 66, a low form, certainly of 

 puniceus, with few-flowered branches. A puniceus, var. Jirmus, Torr. & Gray, 1. c. A. con- 

 fti-tus, Ilort. Par. 1833-1869, prcjbably Xees, Ast. 126, a form with numerDUs thrasoid- 

 crowded heads. .4. viniineus, Xees, Ast. 68 (form with longer and nearly glabrous branches), 

 not of Willd., nor of Lam. — Xew England, Canada, &c. 



Var. lucidulus. ^\. foot to a yard high, very leafy ■ stems glabrous, or with vestiges or 

 even conspicuous traces of hispidulous pubescence: leaies lanceolate, entire or sjjaringly 

 denticulate, somewhat lucid, wholly glabrous, but upper surface more or less scabrous : 

 heads commonly numerous and thyrsoid-paniculatc : involucral lu-acts less loose and less 

 attenuate. — A. lucidus, Wenderoth, Ind. Sem. Marb., ex DC. Prodr. v. 247. A, pumrcns, 

 var. vimineus, Torr. & Gray, 1. c, chiefly. — Low ground, Xew England to Illinois, Wiscou^in, 

 and northward. 



b. Eocky Mountain and Western species. 



- A. Cusickii, Gkat. Soft-pubescent throughout, or sometimes approaching to glabrous : 

 stems afoot or so high, simple or corymliosely branched, leafy to summit: leaves thin, 

 nearly entire, oblong-lanceolate or oblong; upper ones moderately contracted above the 

 deeply cordate-clasping base ; lower with more elongated narrow lower portion or winged 

 petiole with dilated but smaller auriculate-clasping insertion : heads large (over half-inch 

 high) and broad, terminating stem or leafy short branches: involucre very foliaceous or 

 foliose-subtended and loose; the larger and broader-lanceolate outer bracts fuUy equaUiug 

 the inner : ravs nnmerous, narrowly linear, nearly half-inch long, pale violet : akenes glabrous. 



Proc. Am. Acad, xvi, 99. — Along subalpine streams, in mormtains of E. Oregon, Ciuick. 



Mountain meadows of W. Idaho. TVatson. The latter seemingly connects with 



Var. Lyalli. TiUous with soft pubescence : stem over 2 feet high, rather stout : radi- 

 cal leaves not seen ; catdine mostly narrowed below and with more or less auricidate half- 

 clasping base, but even low-er and larger (5 inches long and inch broad) not petiolar- 

 contracted : heads terminating simple leafy branches : rays long for the size of the head 

 (8 or 9 lines). — Between the Kootenay and Pend Oreille, Washington Terr., Aug., ISCl, 

 Lyall. Perhaps a distinct species and more allied to A. amplus, seen only in herb. Kew. 



