composite. 175 



Sectiox 3. Reads radiate; rays yellow ; anthers vjith tails at the base; receptacle 

 7iaked. 



19. INULA, Linn. Elecampane. 



The ancient Latin name. 



Heads many-flowered. Ray-flowers in a single series, 

 pistillate, ligulate, rarely tubular; disk-elowers perfect, 

 tubular. Involucre imbricated. Pappus of capillary 

 bristles. Receptacle flat, or somewhat convex, naked. 

 Heads solitary or corymbose. — Coarse European perennial 

 herbs with alternate leaves, and large heads of yellow flowers. 



Helenium, L. Common Elecampane. 



Stout ; root-leaves ovate, tapering into a petiole; stem-leaves somewhat clasping, 

 all of them acute, toothed, woolly underneath; outer involucre scales leaf-like-,. 

 n>ys narrow, very numerous ; achenia prismatic, 4-sided. 



A large coarse-looking plant, naturalized by road-sides. Native of Europe. 

 Aug. Stem 4 to 6 feet high, furrowed, branching and downy above. Radical-leaves 

 1 to 3 feet long, 6 to 12 inches wide. Floivcrs large, solitary, terminal, bright yel- 

 low. Rays linear, with 2 or 3 teeth at the end. The root is mucilaginous, and is 

 highly esteemed as a domestic medicine. 



20. ECLIPTA, Linn. 



Gr. eJdeipa, to be deficient, alluding to the absence of pappus. 



Heads many-flowered. Ray-flowers pistillate, in one 

 series, ligulate, very narrow and short \ disk-flowers per- 

 fect, tubular, 4-toothcd. Involucre in 2 series ; the scales 

 10 to 12, leaf-like, ovate-lanceolate. Receptacle flat, fur- 

 nished with linear thread-like chaff. Achenia short, 3 to 

 4 sided, in the disk 2 sided, sometimes hairy at the summit. 

 Pappus none, or an obscure toothed crown. — Annual or bi- 

 ennial rough herbs, with slender stems, opposite lanceolate or oblong 

 leaves, and whitish flowers, axillary , or solitary and terminal; an- 

 thers brown. 



E. procumbens, Michx. Pi'ocumbent Eclipta. 



Bough with close appressed hairs; stem procumbent, creeping or ascending? 

 haves oblong lanceolate, acute at each end, sessile, slightly serrate; peduncles axil_ 

 lary or terminal longer than the head. Annual. 



Damp sandy soils, western parts of the State. June — Oct. Stem 1 to 3 feet loug> 

 often rooting at the base. Leaves Y 2 to 1 inch by % to ]/ 2 , rough, obscurely triple- 

 veined. Heads small, with minute flowers and short rays on peduncles many times 

 longer than the head. — Var. bra«htpoda has the peduncles scarcely longer than the 

 head. 



Section 3.— Beads discoid. 



21. PLUCHIA, Cass. Marsh Fleabane, 



Named in. honor- of xV. Pluche, a French botanist, 



