COAT'S Bl'AKl) 67 



Goat's Beard ('rraoopooon pratcnsf, L.) 



This plant is apparently ([iiitc a niocK 111 one, known only from its 

 present distribution, luiropc, X. and W . Asia as far cast as the 

 Himalayas. 



It is found in C.rcal Uriiain in the I'cninsula, Channel, Thames, 

 .\ni;lia, antl Se\'(>rn pro\"inces. In .S. Wales it is ahsent trom I\adnor 

 and Cardii^an, Merioneth in \. Wales, hut occurs in the Trent, Mei-- 

 se\', lliniiljer, Tyne. and Lakes proxinces, except the Isle uf Man. In 

 the \V. Lowlands it is found generally, except in Wigtown and Ren- 

 frew; in the E. Lowlands generally, except in Peebles, Selkirk, Lin- 

 lithgow; in the I-"., f^ighlands generally, except in Mid and X. Perth, 

 Hanff, and Easterness; in Clyde Isles, W. Sutherland, and Caithness, 

 or from Lanark and Caithness to the .S. Coast. It is rare in .Scotland. 

 In Ireland and the Channel Islands it is also native. 



Goat's Beard is found in fields and meadows, especially in upland 

 pastures laid to grass. It is toiuul, moreo\er, more or less commonK' 

 by the side of pathways, and is common on railwa\ -banks, and on 

 allotment gardens .and waste ground. But it is c|uite native in grass 

 meadows, occurring in some abundance here and there. 



Goat's Beard is an erect plant, with a cylindrical stem, with 

 sheathing leaves arising mainly from the base, and branched. The 

 leaves are tapering, narrowly elliptical, acute, and with the base 

 expanded, clasping the stem, entire, smooth. 



The fiowerheads are greenish-yellow, and may be equal to, or less 

 than the involucre, as here, or half as long (as in T. ntinits). The 

 flower-stalks are cxlindrical. The pappus hair has a stalked feathery 

 down. 



The Goat's Beard is 2 ft. high at the most. ll is in I)lo(jm in 

 June. It is perennial, propagated by division. 



The flower clo.ses at noon according to some, but the best time to 

 see it wide open is at night or early in the morning" (3 a.m.). The 

 structure of the flowerhead is much like that of Taraxacum, the style 

 being hairy above, with narrow lobes. Tlie flowers when open arc 

 yellow and conspicuous, but are not likely to be visited by insects 

 because of their crepuscular habit, i.e. open at night, and are more 

 frequently self-pollinated on that account. 



The fruits are provided with a tuft of hairs which assist in dis- 

 persing them by the wind, in the .same way as the Dandelion, but 

 forming a bigger "clock". 



