164 CO MO LI A 



Comolia DC. Melastomaceae (i). 20 S. Am. 



Comomyrsine Hook. f. (Weigeltia p.p. EP.). Myrsin. (n). 48. Am. 



Comopycna O. Ktze. = Pycnocoma Benth. (Euphorb.). 



Comoroa Oliv. (Teclea p.p. EP.). Rutaceae (iv). i Comoro Is. 



Comose, hairy in tufts. 



Comostemum Nees = Androtrichum Brongn. (Cyper. ). 



Comparettia Poepp. et End!. Orchidaceae (n. 19). 5 trop. Am. 



Cult. 



Compass-plants, Silphiiini laciniatuin L., Lactuca Scariola L. 

 Comperia C. Koch (Orchis Bff.). Orchid. (11. i). i S.E. Eur. 

 Compital, where veins intersect at an angle. 

 Complanate, flattened. 

 Complete (fl.), with two whorls of perianth. 

 Complicate, folded on itself. 



Compositae (EP., BH.}. Dicots. (Sympet. Campanulatae ; Asterales 

 BH.). The largest fam. of flg. pi., comprising about 900 genera, 

 with over 13,000 sp. more than io/ of the total. They are distr. 

 over the greater part of the earth. Although so large a fam. they 

 are well marked in their characters and cannot be confounded with 

 any other, though they have a superficial likeness to Dipsaceae and 

 Calyceraceae. 



Living in almost every conceivable situation, they present great 

 variety in veg. habit, often within a single genus, e.g. Senecio (q.v.). 

 Water and marsh plants and climbers are rare, and so also are 

 epiphytes. This latter is interesting, for the distr. mech. of these 

 pi. is admirably suited to an epiph. existence, and xero. is not 

 uncommon. The enormous majority are herbaceous pi.; trees and 

 shrubs are comparatively rare (about i|/ ). It is worthy of note 

 that the latter often form an important feature in the Composite flora 

 of oceanic islands (see Wallace's Island Life). 



L. usu. alt., frequently rad., opp. in Heliantbeae, whorled in a 

 few cases, e.g. Zinnia vertidllata ; slips, rarely present. R. usu. 

 a tap-root, sometimes tuberous as in Dahlia, &c., often thickened 

 like that of a carrot, e.g. Taraxacum, Cichorium, &c. For details 

 of veg. organs refer to individual gen.; e.g. Aster, Barnadesia, Bellis, 

 Bidens, Cichorium, Dahlia, Espeletia, Gnaphalium, Helianthus, 

 Helichrysum, Lactuca, Mutisia, Petasites, Senecio, Silphium, Taraxa- 

 cum, &c. All tribes exc. 12 and 13 contain oil-passages in the 

 root, stem, &c. In 13 (Cichorieae), laticiferous vessels are present, 

 commonly containing a milky white latex (e.g. lettuce, dandelion). 



Infl. of racemose type, the fls. arranged in heads (capitiila), or 

 rarely in spikes. These heads are again arranged in many cases 

 into larger infls. racemes, corymbs, &c., or even into cpd. heads 

 (Echinops, &c.). In this last case, however, the smaller heads 

 contain only one fl. each. Head surrounded by an invol. of bracts, 

 usu. green, which performs for all the fls. of the head the functions 

 that in most plants are performed by the calices of the individual fls., 

 viz. protection of the bud and of the young fr. Fls. arranged upon 

 a common receptacle the enlarged end of the axis of various 

 shapes, most frequently flat, slightly convex or even spindle-shaped. 

 The shape and surface-condition of the receptacle are chars, of 



