Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXXXVII · Topic 21: Flower families: the composites
137. The asters
Goal: Your child finds and compares several kinds of asters, noting where each grows and how its flower-head is built.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A ruler
- A notebook page set up as a chart: place, height, ray color, number of rays
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about the many asters, with a drawing, and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and nine questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Asters bloom in September and October in fields, roadsides, woods and by brooks. They are common; picking a stem or two of roadside asters is fine where picking is allowed.
The leading thought
There are very many different kinds of asters, and they all have their flowers arranged similarly to those of the sunflower.
Where it grew
Comstock's method: collect as many kinds as you can, with notes on where each was found.
What was the character of the soil and surroundings where this aster grew? Were there large numbers of this kind growing together?
How high did the plants stand when growing? Were there many flowers, or few, on each plant?
Measure and count
What is the diameter of the single flower-head? What is the color of the ray-flowers? How many ray or banner-flowers are there?
Do the disk-flowers change color after blossoming?
Watch the bees
Watch the bees working on asters, and find where they thrust their tongues to reach the nectar.
Nature notebook
Fill in the chart for each kind of aster you found, and draw a flower-head of each, life size.
Afterwards
Return in November: ~ Study an aster plant in November, and describe the seeds and how they are scattered.
Answers to the book's problems
Yes: in many asters the disk-flowers start yellow and turn reddish or purple after they have bloomed.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.