174 COMPOSITE. 



petioled, 3 to 5 inches in diameter when fully grown, smoothish above, 

 whitish and tomentose beneath. Heads of flowers solitary, about three- 

 quarters of an inch in diameter, appearing in March and April. 



Habitat. — In wet places and along brooks, New England, New York, 

 and Pennsylvania. Introduced from Europe. 



Part Used. — The entire plant, but chiefly the leaves — not official. 



Constituents. — Bitter and mucilaginous principles. 



Preparations. — It is commonly employed in decoction. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Coltsfoot is demulcent and slightly tonic. 

 It has been employed chiefly in chronic pulmonary diseases. 



ERIGERON. — Fleabane. 



Character of the Order. — Heads radiate, many-flowered, mostly hemi- 

 spherical ; ray-flowers very numerous, usually in more than one series, pis- 

 tillate ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect, the outer ones sometimes filiform and 

 truncate, pistillate. Scales of the involucre narrow, nearly equal, slightly 

 imbricated, in a single or double series. Receptacle flat, naked. Achenia 

 flattened, usually pubescent, and with 2 lateral nerves. Pappus a single 

 series of capillary bristles, often with smaller ones intermingled, or with 

 an outer series of minute bristles or chaffy scales. 



Herbs, with entire, toothed or lobed leaves. Heads solitary, corymbose 

 ■or paniculate. Disk-flowers yellow ; rays white, blue, or purple. 



Erigeron PhiSadelphicum Linne (E. purpureum Aiton). — Philadel- 

 phia Fleabane, Common Fleabane. 



Description. — Heads rather small, corymbose ; rays very numerous and 

 very narrow, pale reddish-purple or flesh-color, more than twice the length 

 of the involucre. Achenia minutely hairy ; pappus simple. 



Stem hairy, slender, 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves numerous, thin, the 

 lower spatulate, crenate-dentate, the upper oblong, clasping, and mostly 

 cordate at the base, entire or slightly serrate. It blooms in summer. A 

 quite variable species. 



Habitat. — Woodlands and fields ; common everywhere. 



Erigeron annuum Persoon (E. heterophyllum Muhlenberg, E. stri- 

 gosum, Bigelow). — Daisy Fleabane, Sweet Scabious. 



Description. — Heads corymbose ; rays very numerous, nearly or quite 

 in a single row, narrow, white or tinged with purple, not twice the length 

 of the involucre. Pappus double, the outer a series of chaffy scales, the 

 inner of scanty capillary bristles which are deciduous, or sometimes want- 

 ing in the rays. 



An annual or biennial herb. Stem stout, 3 to 5 feet high, corymbosely 

 branched above, hairy. Leaves coarsely and sharply serrate, the lower 

 ovate, obtuse, tapering into a margined petiole, the upper ovate-lanceolate, 

 acute and entire at both ends. It blooms in summer. 



Habitat. — Fields and waste places ; everywhere common. 



