herbaceous, often spreading or squarrose. Receptacle small, alveolate; the
alveoli toothed or lacerate-ciliate. Rays oblong-linear; the corolla of the
disk slightly expanded at the summit, 5-lobed; the lobes revolute, lanceolate,
acute. Appendages of the style (in the disk flowers) lanceolate-subulate,
minutely hispid, longer than the stigmatic portion. Achenia obpyramidal,
short, densely silky. Pappus simple, composed of rather numerous and
rigid unequal scabrous bristles, some of them thickened upwards.—Perennial
(North American) herbs, corymbose at the summit; with alternate entire or
serrate sessile leaves. Heads in crowded corymbs, sometimes fascicled or
glomerate. Flowers of the ray white ; those of the disk pale yellow, rarely
changing to purplish.
§ 1 . Involucre about the length of the disk ; the exterior scales oblong or oval,
closely oppressed, with rigid herbaceous squarrose tips.
1 . iS- conyzoid.es (Nees): stem somewhat pubescent, slightly angled; leaves
ciliate, glabrous beneath, veiny, obscurely 3-nerved; the upper ones oblong
or lanceolate, often entire ; the lowermost spatulate-oval, coarsely serrate
towards the apex, tapering into a slender margined petiole; involucre somewhat
turbinate ; rays rather short; pappus ferruginous.—Nees, Ast. p. 150;
Darlingt.! Jl. Cest. p. 470 ; DC.! prodr. 5. p. 161. Conyza asteroides,
L in n .! spec. 2. p. 861 ; Walt.! Car. p. 204. Aster eonyzoides; Willd.
spec. 3. p. 2043 ; Pursh ! Jl. 2. p. 555 ; £11. ! sk. 2. p. 341 ; Nu tt.! gen.
2. p. 158 (6c 13. plantaginilblius); Bigel. Jl. Bost. ed. 2. p. 311. A. Mari-
landicus (Sfc. Pluk. mant.), Michx.! jl. 2. p. 108. Solidago calycibus squar-
rosis, flosculis, &c., Gronov.! Jl. Virg. (ed. 1 ) p. 97.
Dry woodlands, Massachusetts! to Florida! common. June-Aug.—
Plant 1-2 feet high. Leaves rather firm, 1-3 inches long. Heads sometimes
solitary and pedicellate, but usually sessile in small clusters. Rays
much shorter than in the S. solidagineus, but always longer than the disk.
2. S. solidagineus (Nees): glabrous; stem angled with decurrent lines:
leaves linear-oblaneeolate, or linear, obtuse, tapering to the base, entire, with
serrulate-scabrous margins, indistinctly 3-nerved or slightly veiny, obscurely
punctate ; heads (small) glomerate at the extremity of the fastigiate peduncles
; involucre cylindraceous, few-flowered ; rays elongated ; pappus white.
—Nees, Ast. p. 149 ; Hook. 1 Jl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 14 ; Darlingt. ! Jl. Cest,
p . 470; DC. ! 1. c. Conyza linifolia, Linn. ! 1. c .; Walt. ! Car. p. 204.
Aster solidaginoides, Michx. in Willd. ! spec. 3. p. 2024 ; Pursh! jl. 2. p.
543 ; Nutt.! 1. c .; Ell. l. c. A. solidagineus, Michx.! jl. 2. p. 108. A.
Americanus albus, &c., Pluk. aim. t. 79, ƒ. 2. Galatella obtusifolia, Lehm. !
ind. sem. hort. Hamb. 1837.
Moist woodlands, Canada! and Northern States! to Alabama! and Louisiana!
not very common. July-Sept.—Plant pale yellowish-green, about
2 feet high; the sterns slender, often several from the same root or woody
caudex. Heads in small close clusters, few-flowered; the scales of the involucre
glabrous, broad, white, with abrupt green tips. Rays much longer
than the disk.
§ 2. Involucre mostly shorter than the d is k ; the scales linear or narrowlyoblong,
less rigid and oppressed; the tips greenish but scarcely squarrose.
3. 5. tortifolius (Nees): slightly eanescent with a minute dense pubescence;
leaves short, spatulate-oblong or obovate, entire, raucronulate, 1-nerved, obscurely
punctate, spreading and usually vertical, both surfaces similar, heads
in loose compound corymbs, mostly pedicellate and bibracfeate; scales of
the obovoid involucre narrowly oblong, with acntish slightly spreading tips ;
rays longer than the copious white pappus.—Nees, Ast. p. 151 ; DC. ! 1. c.
Conyza bifoliata, Walt. Car. p. 204. Aster tortifolius, Michx.! jl. 2. p. 109 ;
Ell. ! sk. 2. p. 341.
[3. Collinsii: leaves sparingly crenate-serrate.—Aster (Leucocoma) Col-
linsii, Nutt. ! in jour. acad. Philad. 7. p. 82.
Barrens and dry pine woods, Virginia ! and North Carolina ! to Florida!
and Louisiana! (3. Florida, Mr. Ware! Aug.-Sept.—Plant about 2 feet
high, branched above. Leaves 6-12 lines long, rigid.—Heads as large as in
S. eonyzoides, seldom clustered. Flowers of the disk 10 or more. Achenia
short.—In a specimen collected in Virginia by Mr. Durand, the lower leaves
are sparingly crenate-serrate, and the others entire.
4. S. Oregonensis (Nutt.): nearly glabrous; leaves broadly lanceolate,
rather acute, entire, 1-nerved, veiny, both sides and especially the margins
scabrous ; heads clustered in small compact corymbs ; scales of the turbinate
involucre oblong-linear, 1-nerved; rays longer than the (white) pappus;
achenia slender.—Nutt.! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. (n. ser.) 7. p . 302.
Oregon, Nuttall!—Plant apparently rather large and stout, somewhat
branched. Leaves 2-3 inches long, nearly half an inch wide, thickish, narrowed
at the base ; those of the branchlets small. Heads rather larger than
in the following species, about 15-flowered. Achenia not very densely silky,
nearly linear, fully half the length of the pappus.—We have reason to think
that this will prove a mere variety of the succeeding; yet the exserted rays
may afford a constant character.
5. S. rigidus (Lindl.) : nearly glabrous; leaves oblong-spatulate, or ob-
lanceolafe, obtuse, often mucronulate, entire, somewhat 3-nerved, veiny,
both surfaces very scabrous, the margins ciliate-scabrous; heads clustered
in small compact corymbs ; scales of the turbinate involucre narrowly oblong
or linear, 1-nerved; rays shorter than the (white) pappus; achenia
rather slender.—Lin d l.! in Hook. Jl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 14, Sf in DC. 1. c. ;
Nutt. ! 1. c. (/3. laevicaulis.) Galatella platylepis, Nees, in herb Am .
Low hills and gravelly soil, Oregon, around Fort Vancouver, &c. Douglas
! Dr.Bcouler! Nuttall! July-Aug.—Plant 1 to 2 feet high; the simple
stems, or the few corymbose branches, terminated by small compact
corymbs. Leaves an inch in length, rigid. Heads about 15-flowered, nearly
as large as in S. eonyzoides. Inner scales of the involucre about the
length of the disk, scarious; the exterior with somewhat squarrose greenish
tips. Rays inconspicuous, but perhaps always present, and fertile. Achenia
when mature about half the length of the pappus, not very densely silky.
26. ASTER. Tourn. inst. t. 174 ; Linn. gen. no. 954. (excl. spec.)
Aster, Biotia, Tripolium, Heleastrum, & species of Calimeris, DC.
Heads many-flowered ; the ray-flowers in a single series, pistillate ; ihose
of the disk tubular, perfect. Scales of the involucre more or less imbricated,
usually with herbaceous or foliaceous tips. Receptacle flat, alveolate, or
rarely naked. Appendages of the style (in the disk-flowers) lanceolate or
subulate, acute, rarely triangular or obtuse. Achenia usually compressed.
Pappus simple, of numerous, often unequal, scabrous capillary bristles.__
Perennial herbs, or rarely annual (Tripolium), chiefly natives of North
America. Leaves alternate, entire or serrate. Heads corymbose, paniculate,
or racemose. Rays white, purple, or blue ; the corolla of the disk yellow,
often changing to purple.