31. S. serotina, Ait. _Stem_ stout (2--7 high), _smooth, often glaucous; leaves quite smooth both sides_, lanceolate, taper-pointed, very sharply serrate, except the narrowed base, rough-ciliate; the ample panicle p.u.b.escent; _rays 7--14, rather long_. (S. gigantea, of previous ed.)--Copses and fence-rows; common, and presenting many varieties.

Seldom very tall.

Var. gigantea, Gray. Commonly tall, 5--8 high; leaves more or less p.u.b.escent or hispidulous beneath. (S. gigantea, _Ait._; S. serotina of previous ed.)--Thickets and low grounds, Can. to Tex.

32. S. rupestris, Raf. _Stem smooth, slender_, 2--3 high; _leaves linear-lanceolate, tapering both ways, entire_ or nearly so; panicle narrow; _heads very small; rays 4--6, very short_.--Rocky river-banks, W. Va. to Ky. and Ind.

[=][=] _p.u.b.escent (at least the stem) or hispidulous-scabrous._

33. S. Canadensis, L. _Stem rough-hairy_, tall and stout (3--6 high); _leaves lanceolate_, pointed, sharply serrate (sometimes almost entire), _more or less p.u.b.escent beneath and rough above; heads small; rays very short_.--Borders of thickets and fields; very common.--Varies greatly in the roughness and hairiness of the stem and leaves, the latter oblong-lanceolate or elongated linear-lanceolate;--in var. PRCERA, whitish-woolly underneath; and in var. SCaBRA also very rough above, often entire, and rugose-veined.

34. S. nemoralis, Ait. _Clothed with a minute and close grayish-h.o.a.ry_ (soft or roughish) _p.u.b.escence_; stem simple or corymbed at the summit (--2 high); leaves _oblanceolate or spatulate-oblong_, the lower somewhat crenate-toothed and tapering into a petiole; racemes numerous, dense, at length recurved, forming a large and crowded compound raceme or panicle which is usually turned to one side; scales of the involucre linear-oblong, appressed; rays 5--9.--Dry sterile fields; very common. Flowers very bright yellow, beginning early in Aug.--Var. INCaNA, Gray, of Minn., and westward, is a dwarf form, with rigid oval or oblong leaves, rather strongly serrate or entire, and the cl.u.s.ters of heads in a dense oblong or conical thyrse.

35. S. radula, Nutt. Stem and _oblong or obovate-spatulate leaves rigid and very rough, not h.o.a.ry_, the upper sessile; scales oblong, rigid; rays 3--6; otherwise nearly as in n. 34.--Dry hills, W. Ill., Minn.

Kan., and southward.

36. S. Drummondii, Torr. & Gray. _Stem_ (1--3 high) _and lower surface of the broadly ovate or oval somewhat triple-ribbed leaves minutely velvety-p.u.b.escent_, some of the leaves almost entire; racemes panicled, short; scales of the involucre oblong, obtuse; rays 4 or 5.--S. W. Ill., Mo., and southward.

[+][+][+][+] _Heads in a compound corymb terminating the simple stem, not at all racemose; leaves mostly with a strong midrib._

[++] Leaves flat, not 3-nerved.

37. S. rigida, L. _Rough and somewhat h.o.a.ry_ with a minute p.u.b.escence; stem stout (2--5 high), very leafy; corymb dense; _leaves oval or oblong_, copiously feather-veined, thick and rigid; the upper closely sessile by a broad base, slightly serrate, the uppermost entire; heads large, over 30-flowered; the rays 7--10.--Dry soil, N. Eng. to Minn., and southward.

38. S. Ohioensis, Riddell. _Very smooth_ throughout; stem wand-like, slender, leafy (2--3 high); _stem-leaves oblong-lanceolate, flat_, entire, obscurely feather-veined, closely sessile; the lower and radical ones elongated, slightly serrate toward the apex, tapering into long margined petioles; head numerous, on smooth pedicels, small, 16--20-flowered; the rays 6 or 7.--Moist meadows or prairies, W. New York to Ind. and Wisc.--Root-leaves 1 long; the upper reduced to 1--2', with rough margins, like the rest.

[++][++] _Leaves somewhat folded, entire, the lower slightly 3-nerved._

39. S. Riddellii, Frank. _Smooth and stout_ (2--4 high), _very leafy_, the branches of the dense corymb and pedicels rough-p.u.b.escent; _leaves linear-lanceolate, elongated_ (4--6' long), acute, partly clasping or sheathing, _mostly recurved_, the lowest elongated-lanceolate and tapering into a long keeled petiole; _heads very numerous_, cl.u.s.tered, 20--30-flowered; the rays 7--9.--Wet gra.s.sy prairies, Ohio to Minn. and Mo.; Ft. Monroe, Va.--Heads larger than in the last, 2--3" long.

Stem-leaves upright and partly sheathing at the base, then gradually recurved-spreading.

40. S. Houghtnii, Torr. & Gray. _Smooth; stem rather low and slender_ (1--2 high); _leaves scattered, linear-lanceolate, acutish_, tapering into a narrowed slightly clasping base, or the lower into margined petioles; _heads few or several_, 20--30-flowered; the rays 7--9.--Swamps, north sh.o.r.e of Lake Michigan; Genesee Co., N. Y. July, Aug.--Leaves rough-margined, 2--5' long, 2--4" wide, 1-nerved, or the lower obscurely 3-nerved above; veins obscure. Heads large, nearly '

long. Scales of the involucre obtuse.

-- 2. EUTHaMIA. _Corymbosely much branched; heads small, sessile, in little cl.u.s.ters crowded in flat-topped corymbs; the closely appressed involucral scales somewhat glutinous; receptacle fimbrillate; rays 6--20, short, more numerous than the disk-flowers; leaves narrow, entire, sessile._

41. S. lanceolata, L. _Leaves lanceolate-linear, 3--5-nerved_; the nerves, margins, and angles of the branches minutely rough-p.u.b.escent; heads obovoid-cylindrical, in dense corymbed cl.u.s.ters; _rays 15--20_.--River-banks, etc., in moist soil; common.--Stem 2--3 high; leaves 3--5' long.

42. S. tenuiflia, Pursh. Smooth, slender; _leaves very narrowly linear, mostly 1-nerved, dotted_; heads obovoid-club-shaped, in numerous cl.u.s.ters of 2 or 3, disposed in a loose corymb; _rays 6--12_.--Sandy fields, Ma.s.s. to Ill., and southward; common near the coast.

18. BRACHYCHae'TA, Torr. & Gray. FALSE GOLDEN-ROD.

Heads and flowers nearly as in Solidago, except the pappus, which is a row of minute rather scale-like bristles, shorter than the achene.--A perennial herb, with rounded or ovate serrate leaves, all the _lower ones heart-shaped_; the small yellow heads in sessile cl.u.s.ters racemed or spiked on the branches. (Name composed of ?a???, _short_, and ??t?, _bristle_, from the pappus.)

1. B. cordata, Torr. & Gray. Wooded hills, S. Ind. and E. Ky. to N. Ga.

Oct.--Plant 2--4 high, slender, more or less p.u.b.escent.

19. BeLLIS, Tourn. DAISY.

Heads many-flowered, radiate; the rays numerous, pistillate. Scales of the involucre herbaceous, equal, in about 2 rows. Receptacle conical, naked. Achenes obovate, flattened, wingless, and without any pappus.--Low herbs (all but our single species natives of the Old World), either stemless, like the true _Daisy_, B. PERENNIS (which is found as an occasional escape from cultivation), or leafy-stemmed, as is the following. (The Latin name, from _bellus_, pretty.)

1. B. integriflia, Michx. (WESTERN DAISY.) Annual or biennial, diffusely branched (4'--1 high), smoothish; leaves lanceolate or oblong, the lower spatulate-obovate; heads on slender peduncles; rays pale violet-purple.--Prairies and banks, Ky. and southwestward.

March--June.

20. APHANoSTEPHUS, DC.

Involucral scales in few series, broadly lanceolate, the outer shorter.

Achenes prismatic, the broad truncate apex bearing a short coroniform pappus. Otherwise as Bellis.--Southwestern leafy-stemmed and branching p.u.b.escent herbs, with solitary terminal daisy-like heads. (?fa???, _inconspicuous_, and st?f??, _crown_; in allusion to the pappus.)

1. A. Arkansa.n.u.s, Gray. Diffuse, 1 high; leaves oblong-spatulate to broadly lanceolate, the lower often toothed or lobed; rays white to purple, ' long; pappus mostly 4--5-lobed.--Plains of Kan. and southward.

21. CHaeTOPaPPA, DC.

Heads several-flowered, radiate; disk-flowers often sterile. Involucral bracts imbricated in 2 or more rows, the outer shorter. Receptacle flat, naked. Achenes fusiform or compressed; pappus of 5 or fewer thin nerveless paleae, alternating with rough bristly awns, or these wanting.--Low southwestern branching annuals, with narrow entire leaves and solitary terminal heads; ray white or purple. (?a?t?, _a bristle_, and p?pp??, _pappus_.)

1. C. asterodes, DC. Slender, 2--10' high, p.u.b.escent; involucres narrow, 2" long; rays 5--12; achenes p.u.b.escent.--Dry grounds, Vernon Co., Mo., and southward.

22. BOLTNIA, L'Her.

Heads many-flowered, radiate; the rays numerous, pistillate. Scales of the hemispherical involucre imbricated somewhat in 2 rows, appressed, with narrow membranaceous margins. Receptacle conical or hemispherical, naked. Achenes very flat, obovate or inversely heart-shaped, margined with a callous wing, or in the ray 3-winged, crowned with a pappus of several minute bristles and usually 2--4 longer awns.--Perennial and bushy-branched smooth herbs, pale green, with the aspect of Aster; the thickish leaves chiefly entire, often turned edgewise. Flowers autumnal; disk yellow; rays white or purplish. (Dedicated to _James Bolton_, an English botanist of the last century.)

[*] _Heads middle-sized, loosely corymbed._

1. B. asterodes, L'Her. Stems 2--8 high; leaves lanceolate; involucral scales ac.u.minate; pappus of few or many minute bristles and 2 awns or none. (B. glastifolia, _L'Her._, the awned form.)--Moist places along streams; Penn. to Ill., and southward to Fla. Sept., Oct.--Var.

DECuRRENS, Engelm., a large form with the leaves alate-decurrent upon the stem and branches. Mo. (_Eggert_).

2. B. latisquama, Gray. Heads rather larger; involucral scales oblong to ovate, obtuse or mucronate-apiculate; pappus-awns conspicuous.--W. Mo.

and Kan.

[*][*] _Heads small, panicled on the slender branches._

3. B. diffusa, L'Her. Stem diffusely branched; leaves lance-linear, those on the branchlets very small and awl-shaped; rays short, mostly white; pappus of several very short bristles and 2 short awns.--Prairies of S. Ill. (_Vasey_), and southwestward. Aug.--Oct.

23. TOWNSeNDIA, Hook.

Heads many-flowered, the numerous ray-flowers (violet to white) in a single series, fertile. Involucre broad, the lanceolate scariously margined scales imbricated in several series. Receptacle flat, naked.

Achenes obovate or oblong, flattened, with thickish margins and beset with forked-capitellate hairs; pappus a single row of long awns or coa.r.s.e rigid bristles, or reduced in the ray to chaffy scales.--Low scarcely caulescent herbs, with linear to spatulate entire leaves and large heads. (Named for _David Townsend_, botanical a.s.sociate of Dr.

Darlington of Penn.)

1. T. sercea, Hook. Acaulescent silky-p.u.b.escent perennial; heads sessile, solitary or few, --1' high; ray-pappus mostly bristly.--Dry plains, central Neb., north and westward. April, May.

24. SERICOCaRPUS, Nees. WHITE-TOPPED ASTER.