406 COMPOSITAE. Vou. III. 
2. Sericocarpus bifoliatus (Walt.) Porter. 
Rough White-topped or Silk-seed- 
Aster. Fig. 4280. 
Conyza bifoliata Walt. Fl. Car. 204. 1788. 
Aster tortifolius Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 109. 1803. 
S. tortifolius Nees, Gen. & Sp. Ast. 151. 1832. 
S. bifoliatus Porter, Mem. Torr. Club 5: 322. 1894. 
Densely puberulent or scabrous, about 2° high, 
the stem terete, or slightly angled. Leaves ses- 
sile, obscurely veined, obovate or broadly spatu- 
late, thick, obtuse, ascending or erect by a twist 
at the base, 2-1’ long, 4-8” wide, entire, mu- 
cronulate, densely appressed-puberulent on both 
sides, the upper mostly oblong, much smaller; 
heads 4”-5” high, cymose-paniculate; involucre 
narrowly campanulate, its bracts oblong or the 
inner linear, pubescent, their tips somewhat 
spreading; rays short; pappus white. 
v4 e A iG) 
In dry soil, Virginia to Florida and Louisiana, g&& ES WF a ESS Bs 
mainly near the coast. Rattlesnake-master. July-Sept. SQ 4/ y AN ERK. 
3. Sericocarpus asteroides (L.) B.S.P. 
Toothed White-topped Aster. Fig 4281. 
Conyza asteroides L. Sp. Pl. 861. 1753. 
S. conyzoides Nees, Gen. & Sp. Ast. 150. 1832. 
S. asteroides B.S.P, Prel. Cat. N. Y. 26. 1888. 
Stem pubescent, or glabrate, slightly angled, 
1°-2° high. Leaves thin, pubescent or glabrous, 
ciliate, pinnately veined and faintly 3-nerved, the 
basal and lower ones obovate or spatulate, den- 
tate or rarely entire, 2’-4’ long, 1’-1}’ wide, nar- 
rowed into margined petioles; upper leaves ob- 
long or oblong-lanceolate, entire or dentate, acute 
or obtuse, smaller; heads 5-6” high, densely clus- 
tered; involucre campanulate, its bracts oblong, 
ciliate or pubescent, the outer with green reflexed 
tips; pappus brown or white. 
In dry woods, Maine to Florida, west to Ohio, 
Kentucky and Alabama. July-Sept. : 
31. ASTER L. Sp. Pl. 872. 1753.* 
Perennial or rarely annual, mostly branching herbs, with alternate leaves, and corymbose 
or paniculate (rarely racemose or solitary) heads of both tubular and radiate flowers. Invo- 
lucre hemispheric, campanulate or turbinate, its bracts various, imbricated in several series, 
the exterior ones usually smaller and shorter. Receptacle flat or convex, generally foveolate. 
Ray-flowers white, pink, purple, blue, or violet (very rarely yellowish), pistillate. Disk- 
flowers tubular, perfect, their corollas 5-lobed, usually yellow and changing to red, brown, 
or purple. Anthers obtuse and entire at the base. Style-branches flattened, their appendages 
subulate, lanceolate or ovate, acute. Pappus-bristles slender, numerous, scabrous or denticu- 
late, usually in I series, sometimes in 2 series. Achenes mostly flattened and nerved. [Greek, 
star. ] 
A genus of not less than 250 species, most abundant in North America, where, in addition to 
the following, many others occur beyond our limits. A large number of the species apparently con- 
sist of many slightly differing races, and hybridism is also suspected. Known as Asters or Star- 
worts. Type species: Aster amellus L. 
A. Basal and lower leaves, or some of them, cordate and slender-petioled. (See No. 50.) 
1. None of the stem leaves cordate-clasping. 
* Rays white, violet, or rose. 
§ Rays white, or rarely rose, usually 2-toothed; plants not glandular. 
t Involucre ovoid, campanulate or turbinate, its bracts mostly obtuse or rounded; basal leaves few 
and small, or commonly none (except in No. 5). 
(a) Leaves membranous or thin, smooth, or nearly so. 
Heads short-peduncled, 9” broad or less, the disk turning crimson; leaves acute or short-acuminate. 
1. A. carmesinus. 
* Text prepared for our first edition with the assistance of Prof. Epwarp S. Burcsss, 
here somewhat revised. 
