WASTES AND WAYSIDES IN SUMMER 



183 



are smooth or nearly so on the upper surface, but often covered 

 with a short white down beneath. All the leaves are also finely 

 toothed, but bear no prickles. The flower-heads are in terminal 

 panicles, and are surrounded by many bracts which are either quite 

 smooth or covered with a white, woolly down. The florets are 

 purple, and all equal in size. The fruits are large, and bear a short 

 pappus of stiff hairs. 



We now come to the in- 

 teresting group of Thistles, all 

 distinguished by their very hard 

 stems ; their cut or toothed 

 leaves, which are generally very 

 prickly ; and theii* round or 

 oval heads of flowers, sur- 

 rounded by many whorls of 

 overlapping, and usually 

 prickly, bracts. There are no 

 ray florets, but all are tubular 

 and approximately equal in 

 length. 



Our first example is the 

 Welted Thistle {Carduus crispus 

 or Carduus acanthoides), which 

 is a common plant in the 

 South of England, but much 

 less abundant in the North. In 

 general appearance it closely 

 resembles the Musk Thistle 

 (p. 266), but is usually taller. The stem is covered with prickles 

 which run downwards in hnes from the bases of the leaves. The 

 flowers are purple, in small, globular, clustered heads, which droop 

 slightly ; and the numerous bracts of the involucre are narrow, 

 more or less erect, and terminate in a spreading or hooked prickle. 

 The pappus consists of rough, unbranched hairs. The above is the 

 description of the commonest form of this thistle, but it is a 

 very variable species. The plants vary from one to three feet in 

 height, and flower from June to August. 



Throughout the summer we may meet with the Spear Thistle 

 {C. lanceolatus), a very abundant species which grows on almost 

 all waste places. The plant is a stout one, varying from about 

 one to five feet in height, with a winged, prickly stem. The leaves 



The burdock. 



