COMPOSITE FAMILY 



dust and danger, it crowds so near to the paths 

 of man that it suggests a wildHng longing to be 

 petted. It has indeed made its welcome way 

 into the garden, and holds its own there amid 

 flowers of high degree. 



This is not Helianthus, the flower of the sun, 

 but Heliopsis, the eye of the sun, and never was 

 plant more sympathetically named. It looks 

 like a Sunflower, it is even prettier than a Sun- 

 flower, but it is not a Sunflower; the horticul- 

 tural difference between the two is negligible, 

 but the structural difference is considerable as 

 such things go. Curiously, this turns mainly 

 upon the service and usefulness of the ray-florets. 

 The ray-floret is a very necessary and essential 

 thing in the economy of Radiate-Composite 

 flowers — it is the herald, the bugler who calls 

 to the passing winged world to come and enjoy 

 nectar and pollen without money and without 

 price. The ray-floret of Helianthus performs 

 this service admirably; it stands by until the 

 last disk tube has opened, but it does nothing 

 more, it matures no seed. But if one wishes to 



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