GENUS 67. THISTLE FAMILY. 487 
heads. Involucre small, flattish, of few spreading or recurved narrow bracts. Receptacle 
convex or conic, becoming globose, chaffy. Ray-flowers neutral, yellow or white, sometimes 
wanting. Disk-flowers perfect, fertile, embraced by the chaff. Anthers entire at the base. 
Style-branches of the disk with acute appendages. Achenes flattened, more or less winged, 
spreading in all directions on the globose receptacle. Pappus of 2 or 3 finally spreading 
smooth awns, sometimes with 2-3 smaller awns or scales. [Name unexplained.] 
Two species, of eastern North America, the following 
typical. 
1. Ridan alternifélius (L.) Britton. Wing- 
stem. Yellow Iron weed. Fig. 4487. 
Coreopsis alternifolia L. Sp. Pl. 909. 1753. 
Ac!inomeris squarrosa Nutt. Gen. 2: 181. 1818. 
Actinomeris alternifolia DC. Prodr. 5: 575. 1836. 
Verbesina alternifolia Britton; Kearney, Bull. Torr. Club 
20: 485. 1893. 
Perennial; stem puberulent or glabrous, narrowly 
winged, or wingless, simple, or branched near the 
summit, leafy, 4°-9° high. Leaves oblong-lanceolate 
or lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, serrulate or entire, 
rough or roughish on both sides, gradually narrowed 
to the sessile base, or short-petioled, 4’-12’ long, 
‘24’ wide, alternate, or the lower opposite and 
slender-petioled; heads numerous, 1’-2’ broad, co- 
rymbose-paniculate; rays 2-10, yellow; involucre of 
few lanceolate, at length deflexed bracts; disk glo- 
bose, yellow; achenes broadly winged or nearly wing- 
less, sparingly pubescent; pappus 2 divergent awns. 
In rich soil, New Jersey to Iowa, Kansas, Florida and 
Louisiana. Winged ironweed. Aug.—Sept. 
68. PHAETHUSA Gaertn. Fr. & Sem. 2: 425. 1791. 
Perennial, pubescent or scabrous herbs (some tropical species shrubby), with alternate 
or opposite dentate leaves often decurrent on the stem and branches, and corymbose or soli- 
tary heads of both tubular and radiate yellow or white flowers, or the rays sometimes want- 
ing. Involucre campanulate or hemispheric, its bracts imbricated in few series. Receptacle 
convex or conic, chaffy, the chaff embracing the disk-flowers. Ray-flowers pistillate or neu- 
tral. Disk-flowers perfect, mostly fertile, their corollas with an expanded 5-lobed limb, 
usually longer than the tube. Style-branches of the disk-flowers with acute papillose append- 
ages. Achenes flattened, or those of the ray-flowers 3-sided. Pappus of 2 (1-3) subulate 
awns, sometimes with 2 or 3 intermediate scales. [The daughter of Helios.] 
A large genus, mainly natives of the New World: Besides the following, about 6 others occur 
in the southern and southwestern United States. Type species: Phaethusa americana Gaertn. 
Involucre campanulate, 2”-3” broad ; heads small, numerous. 
Leaves alternate ; rays white. 1. P. virginica. 
Leaves opposite; rays yellow. 2. P. occidentalis. 
Involucre hemispheric, 7”-12” broad; heads few, large. 3. P. helianthoides. 
1. Phaethusa virginica (L.) Britton. Small 
White or Virginia Crownbeard. Fig. 4488. 
Verbesina virginica L. Sp. Pl. 901. 1753. 
Perennial ; stem densely puberulent, terete or winged, 
simple or branched, 3°-6° high. Leaves usually thin, 
alternate, ovate, roughish above, puberulent, canes- 
cent or glabrate beneath, acute or acuminate at the 
apex, 4’-10’ long, 1’-3’ wide, contracted at the base 
into winged petioles, the uppermost sessile, lanceo- 
late, smaller, often entire; heads corymbose-panicu- 
late at the ends of the stem and branches, numerous, 
6”-10” broad; involucre oblong-campanulate, 2-3 
broad, its bracts narrowly lanceolate, erect, obtuse, 
pubescent; rays 3-5, obovate, white, pistillate; achenes 
minutely pubescent, winged or wingless; pappus of 
2 slender awns, or sometimes none. 
In dry soil, Pennsylvania to Virginia, Illinois, Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Florida and Texas. Aug.—Sept. 
