MICHAELMAS DAISIES. 



235 



forms of Novi-Belgii; it was, or still is, found in Perthshire and 

 Cambridgeshire, and in Southern Europe generally. It is prob- 

 ably an escape from gardens, and is very likely only an early 

 form of A. Novi-Belgii. Aster Bellidiastrum is the last of the 

 European species worth noting. It is common all over the 

 Continent in alpine and sub-alpine districts, always in moist 

 spots, and so plentiful in some of the Swiss passes that it quite 

 takes up the place of our English Daisy. "When well grown it is 

 a very lovely plant, with its large rosy-tipped flowers and neat 

 dwarf habit. 



From the Himalayas we have many showy species, the best 

 of which is perhaps the lately introduced A. diplostephioides. 

 It is confined to the alpine region from Kashmir eastward to 

 Sikkim. It forms dwarf tufts of narrow glutinous leaves, from 

 which come long naked stems, bearing large solitary flowers of 

 the most exquisite beauty. They are 4 inches in diameter, rich 

 lilac with a bright golden disc. A. molliusculis is nearly allied 

 to the American A. nemoralis, and Heterochceta, tibeticus, and 

 Laka to the European alpiuus. A. Thomsoni, from the 

 temperate region of the Western Himalayas, is the Calimeris 

 flexuosa of Eoyle, and is one of the most beautiful of the dwarf 

 autumn Asters. It forms a useful rock-plant, flowering from 

 July until November. It is nearly allied to, if not identical with, 

 A. asp erulus, which is kept up as a distinct species in the "Flora 

 of British India." It does not stand dividing well, and should be 

 increased from cuttings in spring, or raised from seed. A. 

 Stracheyi, from an altitude of from 12,000 to 13,000 feet on the 

 Western Himalayas, is a gem amongst Asters. It rarely exceeds 

 a couple of inches in height, sending out runners or stolons from 

 the original stock like a Strawberry, and these rooting as they go 

 along, form an easy means of increase. The flowers are small 

 but numerous, and of a bluish purple colour. It is a useful rock- 

 plant in shady bays. A. trinervius, a variable and widely dis- 

 tributed species, is bright and showy ; a variety called compacta 

 comes from Japan. A. tricephalus, a good dwarf early-flowering 

 species, is also in cultivation at Kew. 



Of the Chinese and Japanese species only four are in cultiva- 

 tion — A. tataricus, which is so late that it rarely opens its 

 flowers ; A. trinervius, which is also common to the Himalayas ; 

 A. Maackii; and A. scaler, a beautiful bold white-flowered 



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