Wild-Flower Study 567 



very selfish toward the world who are very thoughtful of their own fami- 

 lies, and the burdock belongs to this class. We must study carefully the 

 arrangement of its leaves in order to understand its cleverness. The long 

 basal leaves are stretched out flat; the next higher, somewhat smaller 

 ones are lifted at a polite angle so as not to stand in their light. This 

 courtesy characterizes all the leaves of the plant, for each higher leaf is 

 smaller and has a shorter petiole, which is lifted at a narrower angle from 

 the stalk; and all the leaves are so nicely adjusted as to form a pyramid, 

 allowing the sunlight to sift down to each part. While some of the upper- 

 most leaves may be scarcely more than an inch long, the lower ones are 

 very large. They are pointed at the tip and wide at the base; where the 

 leaf joins the petiole it is irregular, bordered for a short distance on each 

 side with a vein, and then finished with a "flounce," which is so full that it 

 even reaches around the main stem another device for getting more 

 sunlight for itself and shutting it off from plants below. On the lower 

 side, the leaf is whitish and feltlike to the touch ; above it is a raw green, 

 often somewhat smooth and shining. The leaf is in quality poor, coarse 

 and flimsy, and it hangs a web of shoddy on its strong supporting ribs; 

 lucky for it that its edges are slightly notched and much ruffled, else they 

 would be torn and tattered. The petiole and stems are felty in texture; 

 the petiole is grooved, and expands at its base to grasp the stems on both 

 sides with a certain vicious pertinacity which characterizes the whole 

 plant. 



The flower-heads come off at the axils of the upper leaves, and are 

 often so crowded that the leaf is almost lost to sight. It is amazing to 

 behold the number of flower-heads which develop on one thrifty plant. 

 The main stem and the pyramid of lower branching stems, are often 

 crowded with the green balls beset with bracts which are hooked, spiny, 

 and which hold safe the flowers. This composite flower-house is a 

 fortress bristling with spears which are not changed to peaceful pruning- 

 hooks, although they are hooked at the sharp end, every hook turning 

 toward the flowers at the center; the lower bracts are shorter and stand 

 out at right angles, while the others come off at lesser angles, graded so as 

 to form a globular involucre a veritable block-house. The flower might 

 be a tidbit for the grazing animal; but, if so, he has never discovered it, 

 for these protective hooks have kept him from ever enjoying a taste. 

 The bracts protect, not only by hooks at the tip, but by spreading out at 

 the bases so as to make a thickly battened dwelling for 

 the flower-family. 



But if we tear open one of these little fortresses, we are 

 well repaid in seeing the quite pretty florets. The corol- 

 las are long, slender, pink tubes, with five, pointed lobes. 

 The anther-tubes are purple, the pistils and the stigmas 

 white; the stigmas are broad and feathery when they 

 are dusting out the pollen from the anther-tubes, but 

 later they change to very delicate pairs of curly Y's. 

 The young seed is shining white, and the pappus forms a 

 short, white fluff at the upper margin; but this is simply 

 a family trait, for the burdock seeds never need to be 

 ballooned to their destination ; they have a surer method 

 or travel. When in full bloom, the burdock flower- 



