426 Order TO.— COMPOSITE. 



iheiraruihes pvJiescent in lines; Ira. subclasping, lanceolate and lanoe-linear, tapM- 

 pointed or very acute, ooriaoeoug, rough-edged, {he lower subserrate ; hds. large, 

 racemed or subcorymb'ed ; scales about 3 row?, subequal, acute, erect, shorter 

 tUan the disk ; adi. pubescent: — TS. Eng. to Ta. (Pursh), more common westward 

 toWis. and Iowa. Comprehends many smooth and elegant varieties, which we 

 vainly try to separate. St. 2 to 4f high. lower Ivs. 3 to 5' long. Rays blue, 

 expanding 9 to 12"- Aug. — ^Oct. (A. laxifohus Xees. A. sestivus Ait.) 

 /3. l^tifl6kus. Slender ; branches divergent ; Iva. rigid, long and narrow, 

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

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

 y. PR^ALTUS. strict, with erect branches, bearing the leafy clusters near the 

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

 to "Wis. Height 3 to 4f. Hds. somewhat smaller. (A. prsealtus Pou-.) 



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

 many-flowered; Ivs. aubamplexicaul, linear-lanceolate, entire (the lowest rarely 

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

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

 Car. St. 3f high. Ivs. pale below, shining above, smooth both sides, the lower 

 ones 4 to 6' long. Hds. numerous, showy, with 25 to 30, light-blue rays. Ach. 

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

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

 (A. Iffivigatus Ph. A. laxus Willd. A. elodes T. & G.) 



41 A. gramiuifdliua Ph. Subpubescent; st. slender, branches filiform, erect; 

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

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

 cliffs, WUloughby Lake, Vt. ; also on an island in Wait's Eiver, Bradford, Vt, 

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

 ous. Rays 15 to 25, much longer than the disk, purple or rose-colored. Jn., Jl. 

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



§ 4. SCARIOSI. White-scaled Asters. 



42 A. aouminaltus Mx. ;Sii simple, flexuous, angular, bramching into a corymb- 

 ous panicle above ; Ivs. iroad-lanceolate, narrowed and entire at the base, serrate 

 and acuminate ; invol. scales lax, linear. — Mts. woods, Can., N. Eng., N. T. Stem 

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

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

 flowered, nearly or quite naked. The leaves are mostly situated just below the 

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

 rays. Aug. 



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

 filiform ; Ivs. narrowly lanceolate, acute at each end, veirUess, subentive ; scales 

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

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

 high; Leaves numerous, 10 — 18" by 2 — i", rarely subdentate. Heads large, 

 few, often but one, terminating the simple axis or branches. Rays large, white 

 or pale purple. Sept., Oct. 



44 A. ptarmicoides T. & G. St. corymbous-fastigiate above ; Ivs. linear-lam^- 

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

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

 by streams and lakes, Vt. (Robbins) to Mo. Rare. Stems clustered, simple, each 

 bearing a spreading panicle of heads, which are below the middle size,, and fur- 

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



45 A. flexudsus Nutt. St. branching, slender, fleimous, very smooth ; to. Iqng 

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

 leafy, 1-flowered; invol. scales lanceolate, acuminate, appressed; rays numerous, 

 shorter than the involucre ; ach. subpubescent. — Grows in salt marshes, Mass. to 

 Plor. The whole plant very smooth. If high, with large, purple flowers; disk 

 yellow. Aug. — Oct. 



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

 mit; branches filiform, 1-flowered; lys. linear-subulate, appressed, " numerous ; 



