YELLOW 



efficacious in rattlesnake bites. Here again crops out the old 

 '* doctrine of signatures," for undoubtedly this virtue has been 

 attributed to the species solely on account of the fancied re- 

 semblance between its leaves and the markings of the rattle- 

 snake. 



Another yellow species which is found in the dry open woods 

 is the rough hawkweed, H. scabrum. This plant may be distin- 

 guished from the rattlesnake-weed not only by its un veined 

 leaves, but by its leafy, rough, rather stout stem. Its thick 

 flower-stalks, and the involucre which surrounds each flower- 

 head, are densely clothed with dark hairs (PI. LXIII). 



The panicled hawkweed, H. paniculatum, found also in dry 

 woods, is usually smooth throughout. Its leafy stem is branched 

 above, with slender, often drooping flower-stalks 



DANDELION. 



Taraxacum officinale. Composite Family. 



If Emerson's definition of a weed, as a plant whose virtues 

 have not yet been discovered, be correct, we can hardly place 

 the dandelion in that category, for its young sprouts have been 

 valued as a pot-herb, its fresh leaves enjoyed as a salad, and its 

 dried roots used as a substitute for coffee in various countries and 

 ages. It is said that the Apache Indians so greatly relish it as 

 food, that they scour the country for many days in order to pro- 

 cure enough to appease their appetites, and that the quantity 

 consumed by one individual exceeds belief. The feathery- 

 tufted seeds which form the downy balls beloved as "clocks" 

 by country children, are delicately and beautifully adapted to 

 dissemination by the wind, which ingenious arrangement partly 

 accounts for the plant's wide range. The common name is a 

 corruption of the French dent de lion. There is a difference of 

 opinion as to which part of the plant is supposed to resemble a 

 lion's tooth. Some fancy the jagged leaves gave rise to the 

 name, while others claim that it refers to the yellow flowers, 



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