The mythical origin of the Asters is set forth in an old Greek story,
which states that after the gods had abandoned the earth, because of
the crimes and dissensions that came with the Brazen Age, Astraea,
the goddess of innocence and purity, alone remained, endeavoring to
redeem the degenerate race of mortals. She, too, finally left, and
became known among the stars as the constellation Virgo, or the Virgin.
After the wrath of Jupiter had been appeased by the destruction of the
earth by water, Virgo, noticing that the summit of Mount Parnassus had
alone escaped the flood, planted there a seed, whose flowers should
reflect the azure hue of her new home and whose heart should typify the
Golden Age that some day will come again to mankind. This plant, Virgo
destined as a symbol of her mission of purity and so she gave it her
early name, Astraea or Aster. That the plants might bloom for all races
of men, Zephyrus, the lover of Flora, queen of the flowers, took the
seeds and distributed them throughout the earth from polar snows to the
sun-kissed lands of the equator. Hence it is that the Aster, in some of
its varied forms, is found in all countries, over two hundred and fifty
species being known to botanists. Although the plant is cosmopolitan,
it is essentially an American form, one hundred and fifty of the total
known species belonging to North America. Of the balance, Russia claims
twenty, Europe ten and Canada sixty or seventy.
It seems as though Nature, after the first blush of spring, relaxed her
efforts for a supreme endeavor towards the close of the floral season.
Then she assumes her festal robes and the woodlands and fields become
gorgeous with the purple of the Asters, the gold of the sunflowers and
golden-rod, with here and there the cardinal and blue of the lobelias.
Among all this symphony of color, no plant is more lavish of its
charms than the New England Aster (Aster Novae Anglae). Botanically
considered, the Asters belong to the Compositae, a family of plants
including from ten to twelve thousand species and characterized by
large numbers of flowers, crowded together into single heads, each
of which gives the impression of a single flower. What appear to be
petals, are known as ray flowers and give the characteristic color, as
the purple, blue or white of the Aster or the yellow of the Sunflower.
These rays consist of flowers, whose petals have been joined together
and spread out flat, the points of the petals usually appearing on
the end of the ray. In the case of the Asters, the ray flowers, which
occur in a single row, are pistillate or have a pistil and no stamens
and hence are capable of producing seeds. The center or disk flowers
are tubular, yellow in color and perfect, containing both stamens and
pistils. The heads are surrounded by an involucre, having leaf-like
tips and are variously massed or branched along the stems of the plant.
With few exceptions, the Asters are perennial, coming up each year from
the old underground portions and flowering in autumn. They vary in
height from a few inches to eight feet or more, but in the case of the
New England Aster, the completed growth is generally from two to seven
or eight feet. This species has a stout and somewhat hairy stem clothed
with many leaves which are pointed, have entire edges and a clasping
base. The ray flowers in the common form are purple, but in the two
varieties of the species, they are rose-purple or white.
The plant derives its name from the fact that its general distribution
in the Eastern States together with the beauty of its flowers gained
it an early recognition among the pioneers of New England, where it
soon became a favorite. The statement is made that it was the chosen
flower of John Alden and Priscilla and, on many occasions, old books,
handed down from revolutionary days, have been found to contain dried
specimens of the flowers.
[Illustration: NEW ENGLAND ASTER.
(_Aster Novae-Angliae._)]
[Illustration: LATE PURPLE ASTER.
(_Aster patens._)
FROM "NATURE'S GARDEN."
COPYRIGHT 1900, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY.]
The Late Purple Aster (Aster patens) while not an uncommon form,
is one of the most beautiful of all the Asters. The rays are long and
showy, in color purplish-blue or deep violet. The plants attain a
height of from one to three feet, the stems having rigid, bristly hairs
and the leaves, which are entire, have a clasping base.
The Asters have been highly considered from very early times. Virgil
states that the flowers were used to decorate the altars of the gods
and the ancients placed great faith in the efficacy of the leaves as a
charm against serpents. The American Indians have always prized these
plants as a cure for skin diseases, calling them the bee flower, as
they supposed that the frequent visits of honey bees, concentrated in
the Asters the virtues of many other forms of flowers.
Charles S. Raddin.