BiEHAcrcM. J.XXV. COMPOSITyE. 3^ 



77. LACTtfCA. 



Lat. lac, mili ; from the milky juice in which all the speciea abound. 

 1. L. ELONG.lTA. Wild Lettuce. Ti-umpct Milticeed. 

 Lvs. smooili and pale beneath, lower ones amplexicaul, nmcinate, upper 

 anceolale, entire, sessile ; hds. racemose-paniculate. — A common, rank plant, 

 growing in hedges, thickets, &c., v.'here the soil is rich and damp. Stem hol- 

 low, stout, 'S — (ji high, often purple, bearing a leafless, elongated, sometimes co- 

 rymbose-spreading panicle of numerous heads of flowers. Leaves very varia- 

 ble, the lower f — 12' long, commonly deeply runcinatc, often narrow-lanceolate, 

 with a "lew narrow-lanceolate divisions. Corollas yellow. Achenia oblong, 

 compressed, about the length of the beak. July, Aug. 



/3. irdegrifbiia (L. integrifolia. Dw.) Lvs. nearly all undivided, lanceolate, 

 sessile, the lowest often sagittate at base. 



y. sanguinarea (L. sanguinarea. Bw.') Lrs. runcinate, amplexicaul, mostly 

 pubescent, glaucous beneath; /?.-;. purple. — Stem ^ — of high, often purple (but 

 this character is not peculiar to this variety). 



2. L. SATiVA. Garden Lettuce. — St. corymbose ; lis:, suborbicular, the cauline 

 ones cordate. The varieties of this exotic are every where well known and 

 cultivated for salad. It is annual, with very smooth, yellowish-green foliage,, 

 which in one variety (capitata) is so abuncij'.t as to ibrm heads like the cab- 

 bage. Heads numerous, small, wit*i yelloAvish corollas. The milky juice con- 

 tains opium, and if this salad be eaten too freely, unpleasant narcotic efiectsare 

 the consequence. :): 



78. M U L G E D I U M . Cass. 



L;it, miilgeo to milk; in allusion to the lactescent qualities of tlic plants. 



Involucre somewhat double, the outer series of scales short and 

 unbricatcd : receptacle naked, faveolate ; pappus copious, soft, capil- 

 hirj, crowning the short-beaked achenia. — Lvs. mostly sphmlose. Hds. 

 ivith viaay yellow or cyanic Jlowcrs. 



1. M. ACUMixATUM. DC. (SoHchus Hcuminatus. Willd.) 

 /?arZtc«Hr.s'. subruncinate ; cauline ones ovate, acuminate, petiolate, den 



tate; hds. loosely paniculate, on somewhat scaly peduncles. — In hedges and 

 thickets, N. Y. to la. ! and S. States. A smooth plant, 3 — 6f high, with the 

 stem otten purplish. Leaves 3 — G' long, the lov.-er ones often deltoid-hastate or 

 trimcate at the base, sinuate-denticulate, narrowed at base into a winged pe- 

 tiole. Heads small. Pedimcles with a few scale-like bracteoles. Scales dark 

 pui-ple, with blue corollas. Pappus white, on the short-beaked, ovate-acumi- 

 nate achenia. Aug. Sept. 



2. M. i.EucoPH^UM. DC. (Sonchus floridanus. Ait. Agathyrsus leuco- 

 phreus. Dun.) — Lvs. numerous, ly'rate-runcinate, coarsely dentate; hds. 



paniculate, on squamose-bracteate peduncles. — Moist thickets, N. and W. 

 States. A tall, leafy plant, nearly smooth. Stem 4 — lOf high. Leaves 5 — 12' 

 long, irregularly divided in a runcinate or pinnatifid manner, the segments re- 

 i:)and-toothed, the radical ones on long stalks, the upper ones sessile, often un- 

 divided. Heads small, with pale blue or yellowish corollas, a tawny-white 

 pappus, and arranged in a long, slender panicle. Aug. Sept. 



3. M. Floridanum. DC. (Agathyrsus. Beck. Sonchus. Linn.) 

 Glabrous; st. erect, paniculate above, purple or glaucous; cauline lvs. 



runcinately pinnate-parted, segments few, sinuate-dentate, upper ones triangu- 

 lar, acute or acuminate ; panicle\oose, erect, compound. — Western! and South- 

 ern States, hedges and waste grounds. A handsome plant with a terminal j)ani- 

 cle of blue flowers. Stem 3 — 5fhigh. Leaves 4 — 8' long, variable in form. 

 Heads small. Rays expanding 9". Jl. — Sept. 



79. H I E R A C I U M . Tou_rn. 



Gr. hpa^, a hawk; supposed to strengthen the vision of birds of prey. 



Involucre more or less imbricated, ovoid, many-flowered ; recepta- 

 31 



