COMPOSITE. Ill 
St em herbaceous, rather thick, corymboscly or paniculatcly 
branched, sparingly Leafy. Leaves fleshy, 3-nerved, the radical 
and lower ones oblanceolate or ohovale, attenuated towards the 
base ; those on the upper part of the stem strapshaped, attenuated 
towards the apex, entire or faintly dentate and smooth at the 
margins. Peduncles nearly naked, with 1 or 2 bracts below the 
anthodes. Anthodes usually radiant, in a terminal corymb or 
corymbose-topped panicle. Pericline oblong-campanulate ; phyl- 
laries adpressed, the outer ones elliptical, obtuse, scarious at the 
summit ; inner ones oblong-strapshaped, almost entirely scarious. 
Acbenes pubescent. Pappus about as long as the achene, yellowish- 
white. 
Var. a, genuinus. 
Florets of the ray ligulate, spreading, lilac or white. 
Var. 0, discoid e us. 
Anthodes discoid, without a ray. 
In muddy salt marshes. Common, and generally distributed 
round the whole sea-coast, and along the banks of tidal rivers. 
England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Autumn. 
Stem stout, 6 inches to 3J feet high ; branches ascending-erect. 
Leaves variable in breadth. Pericline -J- to -J inch long. Achenes 
brownish, very slightly pubescent. Pappus rather dirty-white, not 
at all tinged with red. Plant dull-green, entirely glabrous except 
the margins of the upper leaves, bracts, and outer phyllaries, which 
are sparingly ciliated with very short hairs. 
Sea-side Aster. 
French, Aster des Lieux Sales. German, Strand-Aster. 
The name Aster is associated, in the minds of most lovers of a garden, with the 
various and many-coloured autumn flowers of this name. They are, perhaps, the most 
tiful of all annual composites. Those which adorn our gardens with their bright 
•ins are chiefly of Chinese origin, while the Michaelmas daisies, their perennial nm- 
. are North American. Our common native sea-side species is not uufrequently 
red and sold for samphire, either by mistake or because it is collected without any 
risk. According to Dioscorides, it is called Tripolium, because the flower changes its 
.r three times a day ; but no such phenomenon is observed in our climate. 
Section IL— LINOSYMS. D. C. 
Florets all perfect and tubular, ray absent. 
