184 



FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



are cut into short, narrow lobes, with a long and pointed terminal 

 one. They are covered above with stiff hairs, and below with a 

 white down ; and all the lobes terminate in stiff spines. The 

 involucre is oval in form, covered with cottony down ; and its 

 bracts are lanceolate, terminating with a stiff, spreading spine. 



The Spear thistle. 



The flower-heads are few in number, with purple florets, and measure 

 about an inch and a quarter in diameter. 



Another common species is the Creeping Thistle (C arvensis), 

 which has a perennial, creeping rootstock that gives off erect annual 

 stems from two to four feet in height. The stem is not winged, 

 but the prickly leaves clasp it, and sometimes extend a little way 

 down at their bases. The leaves are narrow, smoothj with edges 

 turned inwards, very prickly, and cut into numerous narrow lobes. 



