COMPOSITAE A779 
toothed, thin, the basal ones numerous. Heads numerous about 1 cm long, 
in open panicles, the branches often with much reduced, bract-like leaves. 
Flowers yellow. 
Extensively cultivated for the local markets, occasionally flowering; not 
spontaneous. A native of Europe, now cultivated in all warm countries. 
25. SONCHUS Linnaeus 
Annual or perennial, erect herbs with milky juice. Leaves alternate, 
those of the stem often clasping, toothed or pinnatifid, segments often 
spinulose-toothed. Heads in lax, subcorymbose panicles, yellow. Flowers 
all ligulate. Involucre cylindric to campanulate, the bracts several-seriate, 
the outer ones shorter; receptacle naked. Achenes ovoid to ellipsoid, com- 
pressed, not beaked, the ribs smooth or wrinkled; pappus white, the hairs 
very numerous, slender. (The ancient Greek name for some species.) 
Species about 25, in the north temperate region, few in tropical countries, 
2 introduced in the Philippines. 
1. S. OLERACEUS L. 
An erect, annual herb, pubescent or slightly glandular, 40 to 60 cm 
high, branched above. Leaves oblong to lanceolate, coarsely lyrately lobed, 
the lobes somewhat reflexed, spinulose-toothed, those of the stem clasping 
at the base, 10 to 20 cm long. Heads peduncled, about 1 cm long, the 
bracts glabrous, thin, green; flowers numerous, yellow. Achenes nearly 
8 mm long, ribbed, rough. 
Casual in disturbed or cultivated soil, fl. April-Aug., occasional in the 
Philippines, especially in the Mountain Province, Luzon. A native of 
Europe, now a widely distributed weed of cultivation. 
26. CREPIS Linnaeus 
Annual, glabrous or hairy, erect herbs. Leaves mostly radical and 
rosulate, some cauline, entire, toothed, or pinnatifid. Heads small, corym- 
bose, yellow, flowers all homogamous and ligulate. Involucre cylindric, 
the outer few bracts very much smaller than the linear, 1-seriate, inner 
ones. Achenes small, many-ribbed, narrowed at both ends; pappus soft, 
white. (Ancient Greek name for some plant, from the Greek “sandal.”) 
Species 130 or more, mostly in the north temperate zone of the Old 
World, 1, probably introduced, in the Philippines. 
1. C. JAPONICA (L.) Benth. 
An erect, slender, annual, glabrous or slightly pubescent herb 15 to 30 
em high, stems one to several from each root. Radical leaves obovate, 
thin, sinuate-toothed to nearly entire, 5 to 15 cm long. Stems slender, 
erect, nearly leafless, corymbosely branched at the top, the branches spread- 
ing. Heads 5 to 6 mm long, the involucral bracts green. 
Occasional as a weed in gardens, fl. all the year; widely distributed in 
the Philippines chiefly at medium altitudes in cultivated ground, ete. 
Widely distributed in tropical Asia, extending to Mauritius, Japan, and 
Malaya. 
In addition to the species above considered, several representatives of 
the family are cultivated in Manila, from annually imported seeds, such as 
Zinnia elegans L., various horticultural forms of Coreopsis, a species of 
Aster, locally known as “consueldo,” and some forms of Dahlia. 
