780 COMPOSITAE (composite i'AMlLi.') 



Flowers bright yellow to deep orange-red. 

 Achenes beaked. 



Aohenes lO-ribbed 103. Ago»eris. 



Achenes 4-5-ribbed 103. Pyrrhopappm. 



Achenes not beaked. 

 Pappus white. 



Leaves entire 102. Agoeens. 



Leaves toothed or r'lncinste-plnsatlfld .... 104. Crepis. 

 Pappus tawny . 106. Hieracivjn. 



1. VERNdNIA Sohreb. Ironweed 



Heads discoid, 15-iiiany-flowered, in corymbose cymes ; flowerp perfect ; in- 

 volucre shorter than the flowers, of much imbricated bracts. Achenes cylin- 

 drical, ribbed ; pappus double, the outer of minute scale-like bristles, the inner 

 of copious capillary bristles. — Perennial herbs, with leafy stems, alternate 

 acuminate or very acute serrate leaves and mostly purple (rarely white) flowers. 

 (Named for William Vernon, an early English botanist, who traveled in North 

 America. ) 



Involucral bracts tipped with long filiform spreading appendages. 

 Heads large, mpstly 60-SO-flowered : involucre 1.4-2 ona. in diameter . 1. F. erimta. 

 Heads smaller, usually about 40-nowered ; involucre about 1 cm, in 

 diameter. 



Pappus purple or at least purplish-tinged 2. F". noveboracensia. 



Pappus cream-colored or stramineous 3. V. glauca. 



Involucral bracts obtuse, acute, or acuminate, but not conspicuously 

 caudate. 

 Lower surface of the leaves smooth or merely puberulent. 



Cyme dense, fastigiate 4. V./asmculata. 



Cyme open and loose, the branches wide-spreading . , . . 5. F. altiasima. 

 Lower surface of the leaves toraentulose. 

 Involucral bracts obtuse to acute, appressed or nearly so. 



Pappus purple ... 6. F. iHinoeTiais. 



Pappus tawny 1. V.m ieauriCra. 



Involucral bracts with acuminate more or less squarrose tips . . 8. F. JBaldwini. 



1. V. crinita Raf. Tall, nearly glabrous ; leaves linear-lanceolate, retrorsely 

 denticulate ; heads large, usually 60-80-flowered ; involucre very squarrose, the 

 bracts with long filiform tips. (F. arkansana DC.) — Mo., Kan., and southw. 



2. V. noveboracfinsis Willd. Rather tall (1-2 m.) ; leaves long-lanceolate 

 to lance-oblong, more or less pubescent beneath, gradually narrowed but not 

 at all acuminate toward the base ; cyme open ; heads mostly 30-iO-flowered ; 

 involucre purplish (or in white-flowered Individuals green), oampanulate ; the 

 bracts ovate or lance-ovate, with loosely ascending or recurved-spreading fili- 

 form tips; pappus purple or purplish. — Low ground near the coast, Mass. to 

 Va. and Miss.; reported from Pelee I., L. Erie (^Macoun). 



3. V. gladca (L.) WiUd. Similar to the preceding; leaves mostly broader, 

 ovate-lanceolate, contracted at the base to an acuminately winged petiolar 

 portion, paler and tending to be more loosely pubescent on the nerves beneath ; 

 involucral bracts mostly with shorter filiform tips ; pappus cream-colored or 

 stramineous. ( V. noveboracensis, var. latifolia Gray.) — • Pa. to Ga. and Ala. 



4. V. fasciculita Michx. Leaves ascending, narroio, linear to oblong-lanceo- 

 late, green and nearly glabrous beneath ; heads rather small, about 20-flowel^(l, 

 many, crowded, in a fastigiate cyme; involucral bracts closely appressed, obtuse 

 or the uppermost merely mucronate ; achenes mostly smooth as seen with an 

 ordinary lens ; flowers reddish -purple. — Prairies, 0. to Minn., Neb., and Okla. 



5. V. altissima Nutt. Usually tall (1-2 or more m. high) ; leaves lance- 

 oblong, acuminate, spreading, smooth or merely puberulent beneath ; cyme 

 large, widely spreading, rather loose ; heads about 25-flowered ; involucral 

 bracts closely appressed, ovate, acute, obtuse, or cuspidate, mostly purple-tinged ; 

 flowers red-purple. (V. maxima Small.) — Rich soil of prairies, etc., N. Y. to 

 Mich., Mo., and soutliw. ; also sporadic northeastw. 



6. V. illino^nsis Gleason. Tall and rather stout ; leaves large, oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, toraentulose and slightly scabrous beneath ; heads 

 medium-sized, about 40-flowered, sessile or shortly and stoutly pediceled in a 



