Spiny Aster (Aster spinosus) is quite similar to the roadside aster and has inconspicuous leaves which are sometimes reduced to spines. The flower heads are less than an inch broad with white outer flowers. It forms dense growths in river bottoms and along irrigation ditches and is especially abundant in the vicinity of El Paso.
LATE PURPLE ASTER TANSY ASTER
Late Purple Aster (Aster patens) shows its lovely heads in October and November along the edges of post oak woods throughout the state. It is easily recognized by the short, broad, and roughened leaves on the wand-like stems. The illustration given is that of variety gracilis which is abundant in the vicinity of Fort Worth. Many asters are found in the state, but very few make a conspicuous floral display except along the coastal plain and river bottoms.
Tansy Aster. Dagger-Flower (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia) has leaves much like those of the spiny-leaved yellow aster, but the purple-flowered heads are much larger and very showy, 1-2 inches broad. The heads are surrounded by bracts with green spreading tips. The inner tubular flowers are yellow but soon turn reddish-brown. It ranges from Nebraska to Mexico and California. This is one of the loveliest flowers on the western plains, blooming from May to October.
OIL WILLOW
Narrow-Leaved Baccharis. Oil Willow (Baccharis angustifolia) looks very much like the black willow, to which, however, it bears no relationship. The leaves of baccharis have a resinous texture, and the flowers appear in the late summer and fall. The pollen-bearing flowers are not borne on the same shrub with the seed-bearing flowers. The flowers, all small, inconspicuous, whitish, and tubular, are borne in a narrow head of ovate bracts which soon turn brown.
It is called the oil willow by some of the older residents because it is said to be an indicator of oil, just as the black willow is said to be a good indicator of water. It is also called brittle willow, false willow, and resin willow. It grows in brackish marshes throughout the state and may be found eastward to North Carolina. The soft white plumy bristles on the seed give the shrub the feathery appearance of the Yankee-weed. Along the coast in the southeastern part, the groundsel-tree or pencil-tree (Baccharis halimifolia) is a lovely sight in the fall.
