branchlets or peduncles racemose along the upper side of the wand-like
spreading branches; lowest leaves oblong-spatulate, sometimes toothed;
the others linear-lanceolate or linear-awl-shaped; heads 3'' high or
less; involucral scales often nearly equal, with attenuate or awl-shaped
green tips.--Dry open places, S. New Eng. to Minn., and southward.--Var.
VILLOSUS, Torr. & Gray, is a hairy form, often with broader leaves;
chiefly in the Western States.--Var. PUSILLUS, Gray, is a dwarf slender
and glabrous form of the barrens of Lancaster, Penn. (_Porter_), with
very narrow or filiform leaves and very small few-flowered heads.--Var.
PRINGLEI, Gray, a low strict form, with few erect branches and rather
small heads. About Lake Champlain.
[+][+] _Hoary-pubescent or hirsute; herbaceous tips of the involucral
scales squarrose or spreading; cauline leaves small, linear, entire,
scarcely narrowed at the sessile or partly clasping base; heads
numerous, small, racemose._
31. A. amethystinus, Nutt. Tall (2--5 deg. high), upright, much branched,
puberulent or somewhat hirsute; leaves not rigid; heads 3'' high, the
tips of the scales merely spreading; rays light clear blue.--Moist
grounds, E. Mass. to Ill. and Iowa. With the habit of n. 11.
32. A. multiflorus, Ait. Pale or hoary with minute close pubescence (1 deg.
high), much branched and bushy; the heads much crowded on the spreading
racemose branches; leaves rigid, crowded, spreading, with rough or
ciliate margins, the uppermost passing into the spatulate obtuse scales;
heads 2--3'' long; rays white or rarely bluish, 10--20.--Dry sandy soil;
common.
[+][+][+] _Scales glabrous, closely imbricated (the outer regularly
shorter), not coriaceous, with short appressed green tips; branches
slender, divaricate or divergent; leaves lanceolate to subulate; heads
small (2--3'' high) and numerous._
[++] _Heads scattered, terminating minutely foliose slender branchlets._
33. A. dumosus, L. Smooth or nearly so, 1--3 deg. high; leaves linear or the
upper oblong, crowded, entire, with rough margins; scales linear
spatulate, obtuse, in 4--6 rows.--Thickets; common.--A variable species,
loosely branched, with small leaves, especially the upper, and an
obconical or bell-shaped involucre, with more abrupt green tips than any
of the succeeding. Rays pale purple or blue, larger than in n. 34. Runs
into several peculiar forms.
[++][++] _Heads racemosely unilateral upon very short minutely leafy
branchlets._
34. A. vimineus, Lam. _Smooth or smoothish_, 2--5 deg. high, bushy; leaves
linear or narrowly lanceolate, elongated, the larger ones remotely
serrate in the middle with fine sharp teeth; _scales of the involucre
narrowly linear, acute or acutish_, in 3 or 4 rows. (A. Tradescanti, of
previous ed.)--Var. FOLIOLOSUS, Gray, has linear entire leaves, the
ascending branches with more scattered paniculate heads.--Moist banks;
very common.--Heads very numerous, and usually crowded, smaller than in
the last. Rays white or nearly so.
35. A. diffusus, Ait. _More or less pubescent_, much branched; _leaves_
lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, tapering or pointed at each end,
_sharply serrate in the middle; scales of the involucre linear, acute or
rather obtuse_, imbricated in 3 or 4 rows. (A. miser, of previous
ed.)--Thickets, fields, etc.; very common, and extensively variable.
Leaves larger than in either of the preceding (2--5'); the involucre
intermediate between them, as to the form of the scales. Rays mostly
short, white or pale bluish-purple.--Var. THYRSOIDEUS, Gray, with
ovate-oblong to lanceolate leaves, the branches ascending and often
short, and the thyrsoid or spicate-glomerate heads less secund. N. Y.
to Ill.--Var. HIRSUTICAULIS, Gray, the slender stem and the midveins of
the long narrow leaves very hirsute. N. Y. and Ky.--Var. BIFRONS, Gray,
a luxuriant form with large thin leaves and rather larger heads loosely
disposed on the spreading branches. Ky. to Ill.
[+][+][+][+] _Involucre various, the heads when numerous densely or
loosely paniculate on erect or ascending branches._
[++] _Cauline leaves sessile, but the base not cordate nor auriculate
(except in forms of n. 41), nor winged-petiole-like; glabrous or nearly
so._
[=] _Heads small or middle-sized; scales narrow, in several lengths, the
erect green tips not dilated._
36. A. Tradescanti, L. Stem much branched (2--4 deg. high); the numerous
heads (2--3'' high) somewhat panicled or racemed; leaves lanceolate to
linear, tapering to a long slender point (2--6' long), the lower
somewhat serrate in the middle; involucral scales linear, acutish,
partly green down the back. (A. tenuifolius, previous ed.)--Low grounds,
Mass. to Minn., and south to Va. and Ill. Rays short and narrow, white
or purplish. Some forms approach n. 32--34, others differ from A.
paniculatus only in the smaller heads and shorter ray.
37. A. paniculatus, Lam. Stem (2--8 deg. high) much branched; the branches
and scattered heads (about 4'' high) loosely paniculate; leaves
long-oblong to narrowly lanceolate, pointed, the lower serrate; scales
narrowly linear, with attenuate green tips or the outermost wholly
green. (A. simplex, previous ed.)--Shady moist banks; common. Rays white
or purplish, 3--4'' long. Approaches in its different forms the
preceding and the two following. A slender form with linear leaves, in
northern bogs, resembles n. 40.
38. A. salicifolius, Ait. Like the last; the leaves commonly shorter,
firmer, often scabrous, less serrate or entire; involucre more
imbricated, the firmer linear scales with shorter acute or
obtusish green tips; heads as large, disposed to be thyrsoid or
racemose-clustered; rays rarely white. (A. carneus, previous ed.)--Low
grounds, N. Eng. to Minn., and southward; most abundant westward.--Var.
SUBASPER, Gray, a rigid scabrous form, with contracted leafy
inflorescence, the broad heads usually leafy-bracteate and the broader
scales often obtuse. Ill. to Tex.
[=][=] _Heads small or middle-sized, the looser linear scales somewhat
equal and erect, and the acute green tips not dilated, the outer often
wholly herbaceous._
39. A. junceus, Ait. Slender, 1--3 deg. high, simple with few heads or
loosely branching; leaves linear or narrow, 3--5' long, entire or the
lower sparsely denticulate; heads small (3'' high); scales small,
narrow, in 2 or 3 rows, the outer more or less shorter; rays light
purple, 4--5'' long. (A. aestivus, previous ed., mainly.)--Wet meadows
and cold bogs, N. Scotia and N. Y. to Mich. and Minn.
40. A. longifolius, Lam. (not of previous ed.) Stem 1--3 deg. high, more or
less branched and corymbosely panicled; leaves long-lanceolate to
linear-lanceolate (3--7' long), narrowed to both ends, entire or
sparsely serrulate; heads 4--5'' high, the scales nearly equal and
usually little imbricated, the outer looser; rays 3--4'' long, violet or
purplish, rarely whitish.--Low grounds, Lab. and northern N. Eng. to
Minn.--Var. VILLICAULIS, Gray, a low simple form, with few or solitary
heads, and the stem and midrib of the leaves densely white-villous
beneath. N. Maine, at Fort Kent (_Miss Furbish_).
[=][=][=] _Heads middle-sized; scales in few to several rows, more or
less unequal, linear to spatulate, more herbaceous and firmer, the tips
often slightly spreading or squarrose._
41. A. Novi-Belgii, L. Rarely tall; leaves oblong to linear-lanceolate,
entire or sparsely serrate, the upper partly clasping and often somewhat
auriculate; heads 4--5'' long; rays bright blue-violet. (A. longifolius,
previous ed.)--N. Brunswick to Ill. and Ga. The commonest late-flowered
Aster of the Atlantic border, and very variable. The typical form has
thin narrowly to oblong-lanceolate leaves, sometimes scabrous above, and
linear scales with narrow acute spreading or recurved tips.--Var.
LAEVIGATUS, Gray, is usually glabrous throughout, the thin leaves mostly
oblong-lanceolate, the upper half-clasping by an abrupt base; scales
nearly equal, loosely erect, with short acutish tips. N. Eng. and
eastward.--Var. LITOREUS, Gray, rigid, usually low, very leafy; leaves
thickish, usually very smooth, oblong to lanceolate, the upper sometimes
auriculate; scales in several loose rows, all but the innermost with
broadish obtuse tips, the outer usually spatulate. Salt-marshes and
shores, Can. to Ga.--Var. ELODES, Gray, slender, often low and simple;
leaves thickish, long, narrowly linear, entire, the uppermost small and
bract-like; scales narrow, with short and mostly spreading acutish tips.
Swamps, N. J. to Va.
[++][++] _Cauline leaves conspicuously contracted into a
winged-petiole-like base or auriculate-clasping; involucre lax._
42. A. patulus, Lam. Glabrous or subpubescent, 1--4 deg. high; leaves ovate-
or oblong-lanceolate, sharply serrate in the middle, narrowed at both
ends, the lower to a winged petiole, none auriculate or only obscurely
so; heads loosely panicled, about 4'' high; scales unequal, erect or
nearly so; rays light purple or white.--N. Brunswick and eastern
N. England.
43. A. tardiflorus, L. Glabrous or stem somewhat pubescent (not hispid),
1--2 deg. high; leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mostly
with gradually narrowed and somewhat auricled base; heads often few,
corymbose, 4--5'' high; scales subequal, the outer foliaceous; rays pale
violet.--Lab. to the Mass. coast and White Mts. Not late-flowering.
44. A. prenanthoides, Muhl. Stem 1--3 deg. high, corymbose-panicled, hairy
above in lines; leaves rough above, smooth underneath, ovate-lanceolate,
sharply cut-toothed in the middle, conspicuously taper-pointed, and
rather abruptly narrowed to a long contracted entire portion, which is
abruptly dilated into a conspicuously auricled base; heads mostly 4''
high, on short divergent peduncles; scales narrowly linear, tips
recurved spreading; rays light blue.--Borders of streams and rich woods,
W. New Eng. to Penn., Iowa, and Wisc.
45. A. puniceus, L. Stem tall and stout 3--7 deg. high, rough-hairy all over
or in lines, usually purple below, panicled above; leaves
oblong-lanceolate, not narrowed or but slightly so to the auricled base,
coarsely serrate to sparingly denticulate in the middle, rough above,
nearly smooth beneath, pointed; heads 4--6'' high, subsessile; scales
narrowly linear, acute, loose, equal, in about 2 rows; rays long and
showy (lilac-blue, paler in shade).--Low thickets and swamps, very
common.--Var. LAEVICAULIS, Gray; stem mostly green, smooth and naked
below, sparsely hirsute above, 1--3 deg. high; leaves serrate.--Var.
LUCIDULUS, Gray; the very leafy stems glabrous or sparingly hispidulous;
leaves lanceolate, entire or slightly denticulate, glabrous and somewhat
shining; heads usually numerous, the scales less loose and less
attenuate.
Sec. 4. DOELLINGERIA. _Pappus manifestly double, the inner of long
capillary bristles (some thickened at top), the outer of very short and
rigid bristles; scales short, without herbaceous tips; heads small,
corymbose or solitary; rays rather few, white; leaves not rigid, veiny._
46. A. umbellatus, Mill. Smooth, leafy to the top (2--7 deg. high); _leaves
lanceolate, elongated, taper-pointed_ and tapering at the base (3--6'
long); heads very numerous in compound flat corymbs; involucral scales
rather close, obtusish, scarcely longer than the achenes. (Diplopappus
umbellatus, _Torr. & Gray_.)--Moist thickets; common, especially
northward. Aug.--Var. PUBENS, Gray; the lower surface of the leaves and
the branchlets tomentulose. Upper Mich. to Minn.--Var. LATIFOLIUS,
Gray; with shorter leaves ovate-lanceolate to ovate, less narrowed or
even rounded at base. (D. amygdalinus, _Torr. & Gray_.) Pine barrens,
etc., N. J., Penn., and southward.
47. A. infirmus, Michx. Stem slender, often flexuous, 1--3 deg. high, less
leafy, bearing few or several heads on divergent peduncles; leaves
obovate to ovate or oblong-lanceolate, narrowed at base and ciliate, the
midrib hairy beneath; scales more imbricated, thicker and more obtuse;
pappus more rigid. (D. cornifolius, _Darl._)--Open woodlands, E. Mass.
to Tenn., and southward.
Sec. 5. IANTHE. _Pappus less distinctly double, the inner of bristles not
thickened at top, the outer shorter; scales well imbricated, appressed,
without herbaceous tips; rays violet; achenes narrow, villous; leaves
numerous, rigid, small, linear, 1-nerved and veinless._
48. A. linariifolius, L. Stems 3--20' high, several from a woody root;
heads solitary or terminating simple branches, rather large; leaves
about 1' long, rough-margined, passing above into the rigid acutish
scales. (D. linariifolius, _Hook_.)--Dry soil, common. Sept., Oct. Ray
rarely white.
Sec. 6. ORTHOMERIS. _Pappus simple; scales imbricated, appressed, without
herbaceous tips, often scarious-edged or dry. Perennial, as all the
preceding._
49. A. ptarmicoides, Torr. & Gray. Smooth or roughish; stems clustered
(6--20' high), simple; _leaves linear-lanceolate, acute, rigid_, entire,
tapering to the base, 1--3-nerved, with rough margins (2--4' long);
_heads small, in a flat corymb_; scales imbricated in 3 or 4 rows,
short; _rays white_ (2--4'' long).--Dry rocks, W. New Eng. to Minn.,
along the Great Lakes, and northward. Aug.--Var. LUTESCENS, Gray; rays
small, pale yellow.--N. Ill. to Sask.
50. A. acuminatus, Michx. Somewhat hairy; stem (about 1 deg. high) simple,
zigzag, panicled-corymbose at the summit; peduncles slender; _leaves
oblong-lanceolate, conspicuously pointed, coarsely toothed_ above,
wedge-form and entire at the base; involucral scales few and loosely
imbricated, linear-lanceolate, pointed, thin (3--5'' long); heads few or
several; rays 12--18, white, or slightly purple.--Cool rich woods; S.
Lab. to Penn., and southward along the Alleghanies. Aug.--There is a
depauperate narrow-leaved variety on the White Mountains. A monstrous
form occurs in Maine, having a chaffy receptacle and the flowers turned
to tufts of chaffy paleae.
51. A. nemoralis, Ait. Minutely roughish-pubescent; stem slender, simple
or corymbose at the summit, very leafy (1--2 deg. high); _leaves_ small
(1--11/2' long), rather _rigid, lanceolate_, nearly _entire, with revolute
margins_; scales of the inversely conical involucre narrowly
linear-lanceolate, the outer passing into awl-shaped bracts; rays
lilac-purple, elongated.--Bogs and swamps, N. J. to Newf. and Hudson's
Bay. Sept.
52. A. tenuifolius, L. Very glabrous; stem often zigzag, simple or
forked, 6'--2 deg. high; heads rather large, terminal; _leaves few,
long-linear, tapering to both ends, rather thick and fleshy, entire_,
the upper subulate, pointed; involucre top-shaped, the scales
subulate-lanceolate with attenuate acute points; rays large, numerous,
pale purple. (A. flexuosus, _Nutt._)--Salt marshes, Mass. to Fla. Sept.
Sec. 7. OXYTRIPOLIUM. _Involucre as in Sec. 6; pappus simple, fine and soft;
glabrous annuals, bearing numerous small heads and with narrow entire
leaves._
53. A. subulatus, Michx. Stem 6--24' high; leaves linear-lanceolate,
pointed, flat, on the branches awl-shaped; scales of the oblong
involucre linear-awl-shaped, in few rows; rays somewhat in two rows,
short, not projecting beyond the disk, more numerous than the
disk-flowers, purplish. (A. linifolius, of previous ed.)--Salt marshes
on the coast, Maine to Va. Aug.--Oct.
Sec. 8. CONYZOPSIS. _Scales of the campanulate involucre in 2 or 3 rows,
nearly equal, linear, the outer foliaceous and loose; pappus copious,
very soft; rays very short or without ligules; low annuals with numerous
rather small heads._
54. A. angustus, Torr. & Gray. Branching, 6--20' high, nearly glabrous;
leaves linear, entire, more or less short-ciliate; ray-flowers reduced
to a tube much shorter than the elongated style.--Minn. to Sask. and
westward, spreading east to Chicago, etc. (Siberia.)
26. ERIGERON, L. FLEABANE.
Heads many-flowered, radiate, mostly flat or hemispherical; the narrow
rays very numerous, pistillate. Involucral scales narrow, equal and
little imbricated, never coriaceous, foliaceous, nor green-tipped.
Receptacle flat or convex, naked. Achenes flattened, usually pubescent
and 2-nerved; pappus a single row of capillary bristles, with minuter
ones intermixed, or with a distinct short outer pappus of little
bristles or chaffy scales.--Herbs, with entire or toothed and generally
sessile leaves, and solitary or corymbed naked-pedunculate heads. Disk
yellow; ray white or purple. (Name from [Greek: e~)r], _spring_, and
[Greek: ge/ron], _an old man_, suggested by the hoariness of some vernal
species.)
Sec. 1. CAENOTUS. _Rays inconspicuous, in several rows, scarcely longer than
the pappus; pappus simple; annuals._
1. E. Canadensis, L. (HORSE-WEED. BUTTER-WEED.) Bristly-hairy; _stem
erect, wand-like_ (1--5 deg. high); leaves linear, mostly entire, the
radical cut-lobed; _heads_ very numerous and small, cylindrical,
_panicled_.--Waste places; a common weed, now widely diffused over the
world. July--Oct.--Ligule of the ray-flowers much shorter than the tube,
white.
2. E. divaricatus, Michx. _Diffuse and decumbent_ (3'--1 deg. high); leaves
linear or awl-shaped, entire; _heads loosely corymbed; rays purple_;
otherwise like n. 1.--Ind. to Minn., and southward.
Sec. 2. TRIMORPHAEA. _Like Sec. 1, but a series of filiform rayless pistillate
flowers within the outer row of ray-flowers; biennial or sometimes
perennial._
3. E. acris, L. Hirsute-pubescent or smoothish; stem erect (10--20'
high); leaves lanceolate or the lower spatulate-oblong, entire; heads
several or rather numerous, racemose or at length corymbose, nearly
hemispherical (4--5'' long), hirsute; rays purplish or bluish, equalling
or a little exceeding the copious pappus.--Lower St. Lawrence, across
the continent and northward. The var. DROEBACHENSIS, Blytt, more
glabrous and with the green involucre nearly or quite naked, occurs on
the shores of L. Superior. (Eu.)
Sec. 3. ERIGERON proper. _Rays elongated (short in a form of n. 5), crowded
in one or more rows._
[*] _Annuals (or sometimes biennial), leafy-stemmed and branching;
pappus double, the outer a crown of minute scales, the inner of
deciduous fragile bristles, usually wanting in the ray._
4. E. annuus, Pers. (DAISY FLEABANE. SWEET SCABIOUS.) Stem stout (3--5 deg.
high), branched, _beset with spreading hairs; leaves coarsely and
sharply toothed; the lowest ovate_, tapering into a margined petiole,
the upper ovate-lanceolate, acute and entire at both ends; heads
corymbed; rays white, tinged with purple, not twice the length of the
bristly involucre.--Fields and waste places; a very common weed.
June--Aug. (Nat. in Eu.)
5. E. strigosus, Muhl. (DAISY FLEABANE.) Stem panicled-corymbose at the
summit, _roughish_ like the leaves _with minute appressed hairs, or
almost smooth; leaves entire_ or nearly so, the upper _lanceolate_,
scattered, the lowest oblong or spatulate, tapering into a slender
petiole; rays white, twice the length of the minutely hairy
involucre.--Fields, etc., common. June--Aug.--Stem smaller and more
simple than the last, with smaller heads but longer rays. A form with
the rays minute, scarcely exceeding the involucre, occurs in S. New
England.
[*][*] _Leafy-stemmed perennials; pappus simple (double in n. 6)._
6. E. glabellus, Nutt. Stem (6--15' high) stout, hairy above, the
leafless summit bearing 1--7 large heads; leaves nearly glabrous, except
the margins, entire, the upper oblong-lanceolate and pointed, closely
sessile or partly clasping, the lower spatulate and petioled; rays (more
than 100, purple) more than twice the length of the hoary-hispid
involucre; pappus double, the outer of minute bristles.--Plains of
N. Wisc., and westward. June.
7. E. hyssopifolius, Michx. Slightly pubescent, slender (6--12' high),
from filiform rootstocks; leaves short, very numerous, narrowly linear;
branches prolonged into slender naked peduncles, bearing solitary small
heads; rays 20--30, rose-purple or whitish. (Aster graminifolius,
_Pursh._)--Northern borders of N. Eng., L. Superior, and northward.
8. E. bellidifolius, Muhl. (ROBIN'S PLANTAIN.) Hairy, _producing offsets
from the base; stem simple, rather naked above_, bearing few (1--9)
large heads on slender peduncles; root-leaves obovate and spatulate,
sparingly toothed, the cauline distant, lanceolate-oblong,
partly clasping, entire; _rays (about 50) rather broad, light
bluish-purple._--Copses and moist banks; common. May.
9. E. Philadelphicus, L. (COMMON FLEABANE.) Hairy; _stem leafy_,
corymbed, bearing several small heads; leaves thin, with a broad midrib,
oblong; the upper smoothish, clasping by a heart-shaped base, mostly
entire, the lowest spatulate, toothed; _rays innumerable and very
narrow, rose-purple_ or flesh-color.--Moist ground; common. June--Aug.
[*][*][*] _Perennial by rosulate offsets, with scape-like stems; pappus
simple._
10. E. nudicaulis, Michx. Glabrous; leaves clustered at the root, oval
or spatulate; scape leafless, slender (1--2 deg. high), bearing 5--12 small
corymbed heads; rays white. (E. vernum, _Torr. & Gray_).--Low grounds,
E. Va. and southward. May.
27. BACCHARIS, L. GROUNDSEL-TREE.
Heads many-flowered; the flowers all tubular, dioecious, i.e., the
pistillate and staminate borne by different plants. Involucre
imbricated. Corolla of the pistillate flowers very slender and
thread-like; of the staminate, larger and 5-lobed. Anthers tailless.
Achenes ribbed; pappus of capillary bristles, in the sterile plant
scanty and tortuous; in the fertile very long and copious.--Shrubs,
commonly smooth and resinous or glutinous. Flowers whitish or yellow,
autumnal. (Name of some shrub anciently dedicated to _Bacchus_.)
1. B. halimifolia, L. Smooth and somewhat scurfy; branches angled;
leaves obovate and wedge-form, petiolate, coarsely toothed, or the upper
entire; heads scattered or in leafy panicles; scales of the involucre
acutish.--Sea beaches, Mass. to Va., and southward.--Shrub 6--12 deg. high;
the fertile plant conspicuous in autumn by its very long and white
pappus.
2. B. glomeruliflora, Pers. Leaves spatulate-oblong, sessile or nearly
so; heads larger, sessile in the axils or in clusters; scales of the
bell-shaped involucre broader, very obtuse.--Pine barrens, E. Va. (?),
and southward.
28. PLUCHEA, Cass. MARSH-FLEABANE.
Heads many-flowered; the flowers all tubular; the central perfect, but
sterile, few, with a 5-cleft corolla; all the others with a
thread-shaped truncate corolla, pistillate and fertile. Involucre
imbricated. Receptacle flat, naked. Anthers with tails. Achenes grooved;
pappus capillary, in a single row.--Herbs, somewhat glandular, emitting
a strong or camphoric odor, the heads cymosely clustered. Flowers
purplish, in summer. (Dedicated to the Abbe _Pluche_.)
1. P. bifrons, DC. _Perennial_, 2--3 deg. high; _leaves closely sessile or
half-clasping_, oblong to lanceolate, sharply denticulate, veiny (only
2--3' long); heads clustered in a corymb; scales lanceolate.--Low
ground, Cape May, N. J., and southward.
2. P. camphorata, DC. (SALT-MARSH FLEABANE.) _Annual, pale_ (2--5 deg.
high); _leaves scarcely petioled_, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, thickish,
obscurely veiny, serrate; corymb flat; involucral scales ovate to
lanceolate. (P. foetida, _DC._)--Salt marshes, Mass. to Va., and
southward, and on river-banks westward to Ky., Ill., and Neb. (?)
29. EVAX, Gaertn.