HARE'S LETTUCE 



arvensis, is perennial,, possessed of deep roots and 

 creeping rootstocks; the other two are annuals, found 

 everywhere in fields and waste places. The blooming 

 flower-heads of all the brothers are so similar in color 

 and shape as to be an unmistakable family mark, 

 thistle-like heads but small and pale yellow, and 

 borne on leafy, branching 

 stems. As soon as the 

 flower-head is well opened, 

 its base begins to enlarge 

 to accommodate the 

 growing seeds and be- 

 comes top-shaped, very 

 broad at base and very 

 pointed at apex. 



The unpleasant, ugly 

 name has no apparent 

 application, but the Eng- 

 lish name Hare's Lettuce 

 for olerdceus seems to have 

 a certain justification in 

 the belief that the strong 

 basal leaves made a shelter for the hare under which 

 he might find safety. Gerarde tells us that '4f the 

 hare come under it he is sure no beast can touch 

 him." When the seeds ripen the involucre pours forth 

 a great mass of white fluffy down. The books report 

 that both species were formerly used as pot-herbs in 

 the spring. 



At the time the seeds mature, the bracts of the 

 involucre fold backward and a beautiful tawny white 

 ball of pappus appears, each group of silver wings 

 carrying a golden-brown seed. 



231 



Common Sow-Thistle. Sdnchus 

 olerdceus 



