Part 12

Nearly smooth, not glaucous. Leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, entire or with lanceolate lobes toward the base, narrowed into slender petioles, 4—8 inches long. Scapes longer than the leaves, smooth below, woolly at the top; involucre ½—¾ of an inch high, bracts lanceolate, more or less woolly, flowers orange or copper-coloured.

In open ground and alpine meadows throughout the region; flowering in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Agoseris graciliens= (A. Gray) Greene. _Slender Agoseris._]

Smooth, leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate entire, 6—8 inches long, acute. Scapes slender, 10—18 inches high, woolly at the summit; involucre ½—¾ of an inch long, bracts narrow, smooth with hairy-fringed margins; flowers deep orange.

In grassy alpine meadows throughout the Rockies at the higher altitudes; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Taraxacum Taraxacum= (L.) Karst. _Dandelion._]

Root thick and deep. Leaves oblong to spatulate in outline, usually rough-hairy at least when young, acute or obtuse, pinnatifid, sinuate-dentate or rarely nearly entire, rather succulent, 3—10 inches long, ½—2½ inches wide, narrowed into petioles. Scapes erect, 2—18 inches high, head 1—2 inches broad, containing very numerous golden yellow flowers, inner bracts of the involucre, linear or linear-lanceolate, the outer similar, shorter, not glaucous, reflexed, acute; achenes greenish brown.

In waste places and open ground throughout the region, along roadsides and near the railway; established as a weed; flowering in early summer.

[Sidenote: =Taraxacum montanum= Nutt. _Mountain Dandelion._]

Smooth; scapes and leaves from the crown of a thick, vertical root. Leaves spatulate, oblong, nearly entire or runcinately-toothed, obtuse, the teeth shallow and simple, 3—4 inches long, ½—¾ of an inch wide. Flowers bright orange or yellow on smooth scapes, 4—8 inches high; involucral bracts all appressed, in 2-series, the outer ovate to lanceolate, frequently reddish; inner ones narrowly lanceolate.

Throughout the Rockies in the lower valleys and slopes; flowering in early June.

[Sidenote: =Sonchus arvensis= L. _Milk Thistle._]

Stems smooth, leafy below, branched and nearly naked above, 2—4 feet high. Lower and basal leaves runcinate-pinnatifid, often 12 inches long, spinulose dentate, narrowed into short petioles, the upper pinnatifid or entire, clasping. Flowers bright yellow, numerous in showy heads, 1—2 inches broad; involucre nearly an inch high.

An introduced weed, occurring more or less frequently along the line of the railway throughout the region; a showy plant when in flower, during the early part of the day.

[Sidenote: =Lactuca pulchella= (Pursh) DC. _Large-flowered Blue Lettuce._]

Smooth throughout and somewhat glaucous; stem rather slender and leafy, 1—3 feet high. Leaves linear-lanceolate, lanceolate or oblong, acute, entire, dentate, lobed or pinnatifid, 2—8 inches long. Flowers bright blue or violet in numerous heads ½ an inch or more broad, in an open panicle.

Frequent along the railway in moist open places throughout the region; flowering in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Crepis nana= Richards. _Alpine Hawk’s-beard._]

Smooth, forming depressed tufts on slender, creeping rootstocks. Leaves chiefly at the root, 1—2 inches long including the petioles, obovate to spatulate, entire, repand dentate or lyrate, commonly equalling the clustered stems. Heads few-flowered, nearly ½ an inch high, narrowly cylindric, ⅛ of an inch in diameter; flowers bright yellow, spreading ¼ of an inch across.

A small alpine plant growing among loose stones and on the moraines and on slides and summits throughout the Rockies; flowering in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Crepis elegans= Hook. _Many-flowered Hawk’s-beard._]

Smooth, many-stemmed from a perennial tap-root, 6—12 inches high, diffusely branched. Leaves entire or nearly so; root leaves spatulate; stem-leaves from lanceolate to linear. Heads numerous, narrowly cylindric, ¼—⅓ of an inch high, the pale yellow flowers little more than ⅓ of an inch across.

In gravel beds along the rivers and larger streams throughout the Rockies; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Hieracium umbellatum= L. _Narrow-leaved Hawk-weed._]

Stem rather slender, smooth or puberulent, sometimes rough hairy below, leafy, simple, 1—2½ feet high. Leaves lanceolate or the lowest spatulate, entire, denticulate or sometimes laciniate-dentate, acute or acuminate, 1—3 inches long, smooth above, usually hairy beneath with the margins fringed with hairs. Heads of flowers nearly an inch broad, umbellate, bright yellow.

On banks and near rivers in the Rockies; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Hieracium Scouleri= Hook. _Hairy Hawk-weed._]

Hairy throughout with long, soft hairs; 1—2 feet high. Leaves lanceolate or spatulate-lanceolate, 3—6 inches long. Flowers in an irregular branching panicle. Head ½ an inch high; involucre with copious long bristly hairs; flowers bright yellow, ½ an inch or more broad.

On banks and stony open ground throughout the region flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Hieracium gracile= Hook. _Slender Hawk-weed._]

Growing in tufts, pale green. Leaves nearly all in clusters at the root, obovate to oblong-spatulate, 1—3 inches long, attenuate into petioles, entire or repand denticulate. Stems 8—18 inches high, brownish-hairy above, bearing few or several heads of flowers near the top; involucres about ⅓ of an inch high, usually blackish-hairy at the base; flowers bright yellow in heads ¼ of an inch or less broad.

In dry open or shaded places at the higher elevations throughout the region, growing in sand; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Hieracium albiflorum= Hook. _White-flowered Hawk-weed._]

Loosely branching and hairy with long hairs; 1—3 feet high. Leaves oblong, thin, 2—6 inches long. Involucres narrow-campanulate, ⅓ to nearly ½ an inch high; flowers white, ¼ of an inch across or more; several in a compound cyme.

On sandy banks and open mountain sides, frequent throughout the region at the lower elevations; flowering during June and July.

CARDUACEÆ

_Thistle Family_

Herbs with watery or resinous sap and alternate, opposite or basal leaves; flowers perfect, pistillate or neutral; borne on a common receptacle forming heads, surrounded by an involucre of few to many bracts in one or more series; calyx tube attached to the top of the ovary, the limb (pappus) of bristles, awns, teeth, scales, crown-like or wanting; corolla tubular, usually 5-lobed or -cleft, the marginal flowers frequently expanded into a ligule (ray); when the ray flowers are absent the head is said to be discoid, when present, radiate; the tubular flowers form the disc. The largest of all the families of flowering plants comprising about 760 genera and not less than 10,000 species, represented in the region by the following:

Anthers not tailed at the base; heads rayed or rayless. Style branches of the perfect flowers flattened, with terminal appendages. Rays yellow or sometimes wanting. Pappus double, the outer very short. =Chrysopsis.= Pappus simple; panicle compact. =Solidago.= Rays white, purple, or blue, rarely wanting. Involucral bracts in 1—2 series, narrow; rays usually narrow and numerous. =Erigeron.= Involucral bracts in 2—5 series; rays broader and less numerous. Scales of the involucre dry, papery and appressed. =Eucephalus.= Scales of the involucre more or less herbaceous, and spreading. =Aster.= Style branches of the perfect flowers straight edged or with hairy tips. Involucre not scarious. Pappus never capillary; receptacle chaffy or bristly. Receptacle conic, chaffy; pappus none. =Rudbeckia.= Receptacle flat, chaffy; tall herbs; pappus 2 scales. =Helianthus.= Receptacle bristly; pappus a crown of scales. =Gaillardia.= Pappus capillary. Leaves all or mostly opposite. =Arnica.= Leaves alternate. Flowers white or pinkish; leaves large. =Petasites.= Flowers yellow, leaves small. =Senecio.= Involucre scarious. Receptacle chaffy; rays short. =Achillea.= Receptacle naked; rays conspicuous. =Chrysanthemum.= Receptacle naked; rays none. =Artemisia.= Anthers with tails at the base; heads without rays. Receptacle not bristly; corolla not deeply cleft. Pappus hair-like in pistillate flowers; club shaped in staminate. =Antennaria.= Pappus of all the flowers similar. =Anaphalis.= Receptacle long bristly; corolla deeply cleft. Leaves and usually the involucral bracts prickly =Carduus.= Leaves and involucral bracts not prickly. =Saussurea.=

[Sidenote: =Chrysopsis hispida= (Hook.) Nutt. _Hispid Golden Aster._]

Stems numerous from a woody rootstock, rough-hairy throughout, spreading, 6—12 inches long. Leaves spatulate to oblong, entire, spreading, ¾—1½ inches long, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, often into petioles half as long as the blade or more. Heads very numerous, about ½ an inch broad; involucre less than ½ an inch high, its bracts lanceolate, rough-hairy; ray flowers bright yellow, ¼ of an inch or more long.

In dry soil through the lower valleys throughout the Rockies; flowering in midsummer.

[Sidenote: =Solidago multiradiata= Ait. _Northern Goldenrod._]

Stems smooth or somewhat hairy above, slender, 6—15 inches high. Leaves firm, smooth or nearly so, the basal and lower ones spatulate or oblanceolate, entire or sparingly serrate, obtuse, finely reticulate-veined, 3—5 inches long, the upper smaller and narrower, entire. Heads about ⅓ of an inch high, usually few in a rather compact terminal cyme; bracts of the involucre thin, linear-lanceolate, acute, smooth; rays 8—15, large.

On open hillsides throughout the region; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Solidago decumbens= Greene. _Field Goldenrod._]

Stems clustered at the summit of a strong, perpendicular root, stout, decumbent, 6—18 inches high, usually dark red and sparsely hairy. Leaves spatulate-obovate to oblanceolate, obtuse or acutish, more or less distinctly serrate toward the summit, upper cauline leaves similar but few and reduced, all rough on the margins. Heads large in a thyrsoid panicle; bracts of the involucre glandular-viscid, linear, obtuse, of firm texture, nerved; rays large.

[Sidenote: =Solidago missouriensis= Nutt. _Missouri Goldenrod._]

Smooth, rather slender, 3—5 feet high. Leaves firm or thick, those of the stem linear-lanceolate and sessile, acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, 2—4 inches long, rough-margined, triple-nerved, entire or sparingly serrate with low sharp teeth, the basal and lowest ones longer, spatulate and petioled. Heads ⅛—¼ of an inch high on one side of the spreading or recurving branches of the short panicle; bracts of the involucre oblong, greenish-tipped, obtuse; rays 6—13, short.

In dry soil on the edges of woodland at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in August.

[Sidenote: =Solidago canadensis= L. _Canada Goldenrod._]

Stout, rough-hairy or slightly so, 2—8 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, triple-nerved, acute at each end, the lower ones sharply serrate and petioled, 3—6 inches long, ⅓—1 inch wide, the upper smaller, entire. Heads small, ⅛ of an inch or less high, very numerous on one side of the spreading or recurved branches of the usually large and dense panicle; involucral bracts linear, obtuse or acutish; rays 9—15 small.

In open usually dry soil at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering during July and August.

[Illustration: _a_ Erigeron salsuginosus (Rich.) A. Gray. Large Purple Fleabane.

_b_ Erigeron acris L. Blue Fleabane.

_c_ Saussurea densa Hook. Saussurea. (⅗ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Erigeron simplex= Greene. _Arctic Fleabane._]

Stems 1—6 inches high, several from the same root. Leaves few, the basal spatulate or oblanceolate, 1—2 inches long; stem leaves linear and few. Heads ⅓ of an inch in diameter, solitary; involucre usually rough-hairy as well as woolly, bracts linear acute, rather close, rays ¼—⅓ of an inch long, white, very numerous.

An alpine plant in dry ground at the higher elevations, among stones and on the moraines, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron salsuginosus= (Richards) A. Gray. _Large Purple Fleabane._]

Soft hairy above, 12—20 inches high. Leaves smooth, thick, bright green, spatulate or nearly ovate, acute or conspicuously bristle-tipped, the uppermost small and bract-like. Heads over 1½ inches in diameter; rays 50—70, purple or violet, ½—¾ of an inch long; disc bright yellow; involucral bracts linear, attenuate and spreading, glandular-hairy.

A most striking violet or purple daisy on moist banks, slopes, and in moist, open woodlands; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron asper= Nutt. _Rough Fleabane._]

Stem simple or branched above, more or less hairy, sometimes roughly so, 6—24 inches high. Leaves smooth, hairy or fringed on the margin with hairs, entire, the basal ones spatulate, obtuse, 2—4 inches long, narrowed into a margined petiole; stem leaves oblong-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, the upper smaller. Heads several or solitary, slender peduncled, ⅓—½ an inch broad; involucre hemispheric, its bracts linear, acute, or rough-hairy; rays 100—150, very narrow, violet-purple or nearly white, ⅓ to nearly half an inch long.

In dry soil in the lower valleys and slopes of the Rockies; flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron cæspitosus= Nutt. _Tufted Fleabane._]

Stems tufted, closely white-hairy from a deep root; simple or branched above, 6—12 inches high. Leaves white-hairy, entire, narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, obtuse or acutish, 1—3 inches long; stem-leaves linear or linear-oblong, acute or obtuse, the upper gradually shorter. Heads solitary or several, short-peduncled, ⅓—½ an inch broad; involucre hemispheric its bracts lanceolate or linear-oblong acute, white-hairy; rays 40—60, ¼—⅓ of an inch long, white or pinkish.

In dry open places in the Rockies at the lower altitudes, a pretty tufted plant resembling an Aster; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron multifidus= Rydb. _Daisy Fleabane._]

Rough-hairy or somewhat smooth, stems slender, numerous, 3—6 inches high. Leaves crowded on the crowns of the caudex, usually twice ternately parted into linear or spatulate hairy lobes; an inch long or less including the petiole; stem-leaves narrow or scale-like. Flowers solitary at the top of the nearly leafless hairy stem; involucre ¼ of an inch high and nearly ½ an inch in diameter, outer bracts shorter and spreading; rays 40—60, white, purple or violet, from ⅛ to nearly ½ an inch long.

On dry rocks throughout the Rockies up to 6000 feet elevation or above, flowering during June or July.

_Erigeron multifidus discoideus (A. Gray.) Rydb._, differing from the species in the entire absence of ray flowers and smaller heads, and _Erigeron multifidus nudus Rydb._, differing from the species in being almost entirely smooth except a few hairs on the petioles and involucral bracts, are found in similar localities throughout the Rockies, often growing with the species and frequently much more abundant.

[Illustration: Erigeron discoideus Rydb. Erigeron multifidus Rydb. (½ Nat.) Cut-Leaved Fleabane.]

[Illustration: Erigeron melanocephalus A. Nelson. (¾ Nat.) Black-Headed Fleabane.]

[Sidenote: =Erigeron aureus= Greene _Golden Fleabane._]

Ashy-hairy, 3—6 inches high from a tufted caudex. Leaves ovate, spatulate or roundish, an inch or more long, contracted into a petiole; stem leaves ¼ of an inch long, few, and very narrow. Flowers solitary, about ⅓ of an inch high and broad; involucre usually reddish or purplish, covered with woolly hairs; bracts nearly equal, lanceolate, rather loose; rays numerous, ¼—⅓ of an inch long, deep golden yellow.

In open ground on alpine meadows and among rocks, at the higher altitudes, throughout the region; a striking little plant, flowering in July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron melanocephalus= A. Nelson. _Black-woolly Fleabane._]

Stems few or several, slender, erect, 2—6 inches high, with purplish-black hairs. Leaves numerous, elliptic or narrowly oblong, ¾—1½ inches long, nearly smooth; stem leaves broadly linear, acuminate, ¾—1 inch long, hairiness similar to that of the stem. Head solitary, ⅓ of an inch broad; involucral scales nearly equal, with attenuate tips, densely covered with purplish-black wool; rays 50—60, white or pinkish, ⅛ of an inch long.

In open stony or more or less grassy ground at the high altitudes; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron acris= L. _Blue Fleabane._]

More or less hairy, varying to smooth, 3—18 inches high, simple or branching. Leaves spatulate or lanceolate, obtuse, 1—3 inches long, hairy and entire. Heads ¼ of an inch or more broad, single or several, more or less paniculately disposed; involucre hemispheric, its bracts linear and hairy; rays numerous, very narrow, only slightly exceeding the yellow disc, blue or purple.

In dry stony ground and slopes throughout the region, very variable as to size; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron drobrachiensis= O. Muell.]

Nearly or quite smooth, 1—2 feet high, usually paniculately branched. Leaves spatulate to lanceolate, acute, rather numerous. Heads on peduncle-like branches, an inch or more long, involucre, ⅓ of an inch or more broad, scales narrowly lanceolate, attenuate and glandular, green; rays numerous and thread-like, pink, but slightly exceeding the disc.

On banks and more or less shaded places at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Erigeron philadelphicus= L. _Philadelphia Fleabane._]

Soft-hairy or sometimes nearly smooth, stems slender, mostly branched above, 1—3 feet high. Leaves spatulate or obovate, obtuse or acute, dentate or entire, 1—3 inches long. Heads several or numerous, corymbose-paniculate, ¼—⅓ of an inch broad; involucre depressed hemispheric, its bracts linear with roughened margins; rays 100—150, ¼—⅓ of an inch long, bright rose-colour.

In open grassy and wet places at the lower altitudes, throughout the Rockies; flowering in June and July. This species, the most widely distributed of any member of the genus, is found throughout North America; though locally rare, where found it is usually in great abundance.

[Sidenote: =Aster Richardsonii= Spreng. _Richardson’s Aster._]

Hairy, often much branched from the base, 3—12 inches high. Leaves oblong, spatulate to broadly lanceolate, more or less sharply serrate, an inch or more long. Heads solitary, terminating the stem or branches; involucre broadly campanulate, ¼ of an inch high, shorter than the disc; the bracts narrowly lanceolate, with mostly acute and loose herbaceous tips; rays nearly half an inch long, violet-purple.

In gravelly ground and river bottoms frequent in the region; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Aster conspicuus= Lindl. _Large Purple Aster._]

Rough, stout, and rigid, 2 feet high. Leaves firm, ovate, oblong, or the lower obovate, acute, 4—6 inches long, 1½—4 inches broad, acutely serrate, reticulate-veiny. Flowers numerous in a broad head, involucre, broadly campanulate, equalling the disc, half an inch high; bracts in several series, minutely glandular, lanceolate, acute, the greenish tips a little spreading; rays ½ an inch long or more, violet.

The most showy of all the Asters, frequent in the Rockies at the lower altitudes, on slides and on gravelly river banks, forming great masses of colour when flowering in late July and early August.

[Sidenote: =Aster major= (Hook) Porter. _Great Northern Aster._]

Stem stout, leafy to the summit, densely long-hairy, or rarely smooth, branched above, 2—6 feet high. Leaves rather thin, lanceolate, partly clasping by a narrowed base, acuminate at the apex, sharply serrate with low distant teeth, dark green and lightly hairy above, densely soft-hairy on the veins beneath, 3—5 inches long, ½ to nearly an inch wide. Heads mostly solitary, at the ends of short branches, 1½ inches broad; involucre hemispheric, its bracts little imbricated, green, linear-subulate, densely glandular; rays 35—45 purple, about ½ an inch long.

In moist soil in the valleys of the Selkirks; flowering during August.

[Sidenote: =Aster Lindleyanus= T. & G. _Lindley’s Aster._]

Stem usually stout, smooth, or sparingly hairy, 1—3 feet high, branched above. Leaves rather thick, smooth or slightly hairy, especially on the veins, the lower and basal ones heart-shaped at the base, sharply serrate, ovate-acute or acuminate, 2—4 inches long, with slender, naked petioles; upper leaves ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, more or less serrate or entire, sessile or with margined petioles. Heads usually not numerous, ⅓ of an inch or more high; involucre broadly top-shaped; bracts linear-lanceolate, acute, rather loosely imbricated, smooth or nearly so, their tips green, rays 10—20, blue or violet, ¼—½ an inch long; pappus nearly white.

In open places and along the rivers throughout the region; flowering during July and August.

[Illustration: Aster Lindleyanus T. & G. (⅔ Nat.)]

[Sidenote: =Aster ciliomarginatus= Rydb.]

Stems 1—2 feet high, round, slightly striate and tinged with red, smooth below, more or less hairy in lines above. Basal leaves smooth except the hairy-fringed margins, thin, distantly serrate or subentire, tapering into wing-margined petioles, oblanceolate-acute, 4—8 inches long; the upper oblong or lanceolate sessile. Heads about ½ an inch high, ½—¾ of an inch in diameter, rather few in an open panicle; involucral bracts linear, fringed with hairs on the margins, the upper part foliaceous and the outer somewhat spreading; rays numerous ½ an inch long, light blue.

In moist, more or less shaded places, edges of woods and thickets, throughout the Rockies; flowering in late July and August.

[Sidenote: =Aster frondeus= (A. Gray) Greene. _Leafy-bracted Aster._]

Simple, stem smooth, with sparing, erect, flowering branches. Leaves few, broadly lanceolate to oblong or spatulate, entire or nearly so, the lower tapering into winged petioles. Heads solitary or few, on naked peduncles; involucre ⅓ of an inch high, or less; bracts linear-lanceolate, loose, all equalling the disc; rays violet or purple, nearly ½ an inch long.

In wet places and along streams throughout the Rockies; flowering during July and August.

[Sidenote: =Eucephalus Engelmanni= (D. C. Eaton) Greene. _Engelmann’s Aster._]

Slightly hairy or smooth, simple or somewhat branched, 18 inches to 2 feet high, bright green. Leaves thin, ovate-oblong to broadly lanceolate, 2—4 inches long, loosely veined, tapering at the apex into a slender-spined tip, the larger sometimes with a few small acute teeth. Heads ½ an inch high, hemispherical, either racemosely disposed on slender axillary peduncles, or somewhat cymose; involucral bracts mostly acute or acuminate, some outer ones loose, narrow, and partly herbaceous, or with loose pointed tips; inner purplish; rays about ½ an inch long, spreading, violet or pinkish.

In open woods and on slopes, principally in the Rockies at the higher elevations; flowering during July.

[Sidenote: =Rudbeckia hirta= L. _Black-eyed Susan, Yellow Daisy._]

Rough-hairy throughout, stems simple or sparingly branched, often tufted, 1—3 feet high. Leaves thick, sparingly serrate with low teeth or entire, lanceolate or oblong, the lower and basal ones petioled, mostly obtuse, 3—5-nerved, 2—7 inches long, ½—2 inches wide, the upper sessile, narrower, acute or acutish. Heads commonly few or solitary, 2—4 inches broad; rays 10—20, deep yellow or orange; bracts of the involucre very rough-hairy; spreading or reflexed, much shorter than the rays; disc globose-ovoid, purple-brown.

Throughout the region, not infrequent along the railway from Field west to the valley of the Columbia at Beavermouth; flowering in July and August.

[Sidenote: =Helianthus scaberrimus= Ell. _Stiff Sunflower._]

Stems simple or a little branched, rough-hairy or only slightly so, 1—8 feet high. Leaves thick, leathery, serrate, rough-hairy on both sides, 2—7 inches long, ½—2 inches wide, acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, the lower ovate or ovate-oblong, petioled, the upper lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, sessile or short-petioled, all opposite, or the uppermost bract-like and alternate. Heads solitary or few, 2—3 inches broad, involucre hemispheric, its bracts ovate, acute or obtuse, fringed with hairs; disc brown or purple; rays 15—25, light yellow.

Frequent along the railway in the valley of the Kicking Horse River and in the valley of the Columbia at Beavermouth; flowering in August.

[Sidenote: =Helianthus Nuttallii= Torr and Gray. _Nuttall’s Sunflower._]

Stem smooth, except the summit which is soft-hairy, slender, mostly simple, 2—4 feet high. Leaves rough on both surfaces, lanceolate or the upper linear, 3—6 inches long, ¼—¾ of an inch wide, frequently opposite, serrulate or entire. Heads ½ an inch high, scattered; bracts of the involucre linear-lanceolate with a subulate tip, hairy at the base; rays narrow, acute, deep yellow, 1—1½ inches long.

In moist grounds and on river banks throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering during July.

[Illustration: _a_ Erigeron aureus Greene. Golden Fleabane.

_b_ Gaillardia aristata Pursh. (⅗ Nat.) Great-flowered Gaillardia.]

[Sidenote: =Gaillardia aristata= Pursh. _Great-flowered Gaillardia._]

Rough-hairy, stems simple or little branched, 1—3 feet high. Leaves firm, densely and finely hairy, the lower basal ones petioled, oblong or spatulate, laciniate-pinnatifid or entire, mostly obtuse, 2—5 inches long; upper leaves sessile, lanceolate or oblong, entire or dentate, rarely pinnatifid. Heads 1½-4 inches broad, long peduncled; bracts of the involucre spreading, lanceolate, acuminate, rough-hairy, rays 10—18, bright yellow, wedge-shaped, deeply 3-lobed; disc reddish-purple.

One of the most showy of the midsummer plants, in the lower valleys of the Rockies, in dry ground and on slopes, especially in the Bow Valley at Banff and in the open country around Golden.

[Sidenote: =Arnica cordifolia= Hook. _Heart-leaved Arnica._]

Somewhat hairy, stem simple or sparingly branched, 1—2 feet high. Leaves hairy, the basal ovate or orbicular, obtuse or acute, deeply cordate at the base, dentate, 1—3 inches long with slender sometimes margined petioles; stem leaves in 1—3 pairs, ovate or oblong, sessile or short-petioled, much smaller. Heads 1—8, 2—3 inches broad, bracts of the involucre, acute or acuminate, ½—¾ of an inch long; rays 12—16, deep yellow, an inch or more long, toothed at the apex; pappus white.

In woods and thickets at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.

[Sidenote: =Arnica gracilis= Rydb. _Slender Arnica._]