Franklin on the Mackenzie River, Richardson ! Drummond ! Rocky Mountains
in about lat. 42°, Nuttall .'—Plant from 4-6 inches to 2 feet high.—Our
specimens from the north of Europe very well accord with the American
plant.
13. E . nivale (Nutt.): stems somewhat casspitose and hairy at the base,
mostly bearing single heads; radical leaves spatulate; the cauline lanceolate,
acuminate, somewhat clasping ; involucre and the summit of the stem
glandularly pubescent; the scales linear and acuminate (not hirsute); pappus
longer than the linear elongated somewhat pubescent achenium. Nutt, in
trans. Amer. phil. soc. (n. ser.) 7. p. 311.
Central chain of the Rocky Mountains, lat. 42°, towards the sources of the
Colorado of the W est; near the limits of perpetual snow, Nuttall.—“ Allied
to A. alpinus, but with subamplexicaul leaves, widest at the ba.se. Pappus
longer than the involucre. Rays? A few filiform pistillate florets outside
the discal ones. Achenium long and linear, compressed, slightly silky.”
Nutt. We have not examined this species, which is founded, we believe, on
a single-specimen. We see not how it is to be clearly distinguished from
some states of Hooker’s E. alpinum, in which the upper cauline leaves are
often broadest at the base.
* * * Stem leafy at the base, elongated, and scape-like above, bearing a single head :
pistillate flowers all ligulate.
14. E . scaposum (D C .): stem decumbent and leafy at the base, naked
and much elongated above, pubescent; leaves hirsute with appressed hairs,
lanceolate-oblong or spatulate, coarsely toothed; the radical ones crowded,
somewhat petioled ; those of the sterile branches or lower part of the flowering
stems lanceolate, partly clasping; rays very numerous, about twice the
length of the canescently hirsute involucre; achenia hirsute.—DC. prodr. 5.
p . 287; Benth.t pi. Hartw. p. 17. Aster rivularis, Less, in Linncea, 5.
p . 142.
Rio Brazos, Texas, Drummond! Also Texas, Mr. Callana!— Scape or
naked summit of the stem 4-7 inches long. Rays apparently white.—The
Texan plant accords with that of Hartweg from the north of Mexico ; and
also with a specimen from Jalapa, received from Prof. Schlechtendal, under
the name of Aster rivularis, Less.
* * * * Stem leafy: heads mostly corymbose or pamided: pistillate flowers all ligulate.
15. E . Bellidiastrum (Nutt.): annual; stem leafy throughout, somewhat
corymbosely branched, hirsute-pubescent ; leaves entire, oblong-linear or
linear-spatulate, obtuse, tapering to the base, the lower petioled; heads solitary
terminating the branches, pedunculate'; rays (pale red) nearly twice the
length of the involucre, scarcely in a double series; achenia minutely pubescent.—
Nutt.! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. (n. ser.) 7. p. 307.
Borders of the Platte, within the Rocky Mountains, Nuttall .'—Stem about
a foot high. Leaves more or less pubescent, 1-2 inches long, 2-4 lines wide,
tapering into a slender narrowed base, or the lowermost with attenuate petioles,
thickish, more or less pubescent. Heads few, small. Scales of the
involucre somewhat strigose-canescent. Pappus simple, of 15-20 very slender
deciduous bristles, rather shorter than the corolla.
16. E . bellidifolium (Muhl.): stoloniferous at the base, hirsute, especially
when young, with soft spreading hairs; radical leaves obovate or broadly
spatulate, somewhat serrate or entire; the cauline (often few and distant) oblong
or lanceolate-oblong, partly clasping, mostly entire; heads few (1-5,'rarely
7-9) and large, corymbose; the lateral pedicels elongated ; rays (about 50)
rather broadly linear, scarcely in a double series, twice the length of the involucre,
light bluish-purple; achenia glabrous.—Muhl. ! in Willd. spec. 3.
p . 1958; Bot. mag. t. 2402 ; P u r sh ! ft. 2 .p . 502 ; E ll. sic. 2. p . 393; D C .!
prodr. 5. p . 285. E. pulchellum, M ic h x .! fl. 2. p . 124 (excl. syn. Gronov.
which relates to Marshallia!) ; D a r lin g t.fi,. Cest. p . 472 ; not of D C ., nor of
Hook. ?
Borders of woods and thickets, Canada! (and in the wooded country from
lat. 54°-64°, fide Richardson) to Louisiana ! May-June, or in the Southern
States, March-April.—Stem simple, 9-20 inches high. Radical leaves
clustered, 2-3 inches long, and 1-2 wide, very obtuse. Cauline leaves often
very few, but sometimes numerous. Pedicels thickened or obconical at the
summit. Pappus simple.—Varies cousiderably in the degree of the pubescence,
the more or less entire or toothed leaves ; but perfectly distinguished
from E. Philadelphicum (with which it has sometimes been confounded) by
the larger heads, bluish-purple (not reddish-purple) much broader rays,_ glabrous
achenia, and by the stolons, &c. It is the earliest-flowering species in
the Northern States.—The plant we have under the name of E. pulchellus,
Hook. fl. Bor.-Am., is the same with the E. glabellus (3. of the same work,
whence (although it may have been so labelled by mistake) we have not
cited the synonym here, particularly as the character does not well accord
with our E. bellidifolium. Hooker also mentions a variety from Oregon,
with the leaves deeply toothed, which is probably what we consider a variety
o fE . Philadelphicum.
17. E. Philadelphicum (Linn.) : hirsute or h a iry ; stem slender, loosely
corymbose above; leaves membranapeous, with a conspicuous midrib,
ciliate; the radical and lowermost spatulate-oblong, tapering into a slender
base or margined petiole, obtusely serrate or nearly entire; the upper cauline
oblong, clasping and mostly cordate at the base, entire, or rarely somewhat
serrate; heads corymbose (rather small) ; rays innumerable, very narrow,
pale reddish-purple or flesh-color, more than twice the length of the involucre
; achenia minutely hairy.—Linn. ! spec. 2. p. 863 ; Willd. ! spec. 3.
p . 1957 ; Michx.! fl. 2. p. 123 ; Pursh! fl. 2. p. 533; Darlingt. ! fl. Cest.
p. 462; Hook, compan. to bot. mag. 1. p. 96; not of Ell. or DC., nor of
Bart. E. purpureum, Ait. Kew. (ed. 1.) 3. p. 186; Pursh! 1. c .; Hook.!
fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 19; DC. ! prodr. 5. p. 286. E. amplexicaule, Torr. !
in Short, cat. Kentucky plants.
(3. stem stout; cauline leaves larger, mostly coarsely and sharply serrate ;
corymbs compound ; rays pale or nearly white.
y. ? stem tall and stout, glabrous above, as also the numerous sharply
serrate leaves; corymbs compound.
6. “ stem elongated and slender towards the summit, very hairy at the
base; radical leaves spatulate-lanceolate, dentate; flowers white; the rays
not much longer than the disk.” Nutt.—E. purpureum (3. attenuatum,
Nutt. ! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. (n. ser.) 7. p. 307.
Woodlands and fields, common nearly throughout North America, from
Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic Circle (Richardson) Saskatchawan! &c. to
Louisiana! and west to Oregon ! and California / y, Oregon, D r . Scouler!
D rum m o n d ! <5. Oregon and Arkansas, N u tta ll! June-Aug; the varieties
/I. & y. commencing in April or May in the Southern States.—Stem 1-2,
in /I. & y. often more than 3 feet high, villous-hirsute towards the base.
Leaves bright green, thin ; the broad and whitish midrib conspicuous underneath.
Pedicels naked, thickened at the summit. Scales of the involucre
> somewhat hairy on the back; the margins scarious. Pappus simple.—
Variable as to size &c., but a well-marked species. The var. 6. appears to
be an attenuated state of j3., and like it has very pale rays, and probably
grows in shade.—We know not why Linnaeus applied to this species the
name of E. Philadelphicum, since his specimen, communicated by Kalm, is
said to come from Canada.