98 COMPOSITE. [part I. 



CHAPTER YI. 



THE ORDEI^ COMPOSITE : ILLUSTRATED BY THE SUCCORY, THE 

 SOW-THISTLE, THE DANDELION, THE BURDOCK, THE DAISY, 

 THE CHRYSANTHEMUM, FEVERFEW, PELLITORY OF SPAIN, WILD 

 CHAMOMILE, TRUE CHAMOMILE, YARROW, THE BUR-MARIGOLD, 

 GROUNDSEL, RAGWORT, BIRD's TONGUE, PURPLE JACOB>EA, 

 CINERARIA, SUNFLOWER, MUTISIA, AND TRIPTILION. 



The plants composing the order Compositse 

 have all compound flowers, which differ from 

 other flowers as much as a compound leaf does 

 from a simple one. As the compound leaf is 

 composed of a number of leaflets or pinna? united 

 by a common petiole ; so a compound flower is 

 composed of a number of florets, united by a 

 common receptacle, which is surrounded by a 

 calyx-like involucre, so as to give the whole 

 mass the appearance of a simple flower. Each 

 floret has a calyx, the tubular part of which is 

 rarely sufficiently distinct to be perceptible, but 

 the limb is generally cut into long feathery 

 segments called pappus. The ovary of each 

 floret contains only one seed ; and the fruit, 

 which is called an achenium, retains the pappus 

 when ripe, and falls without opening. There 

 are five stamens, the filaments of which are dis- 

 tinct, but the anthers grow together so as to 



