220 



FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



branched ; and the leaves are very variable in form — the radical 

 ones usually pinnate, with from three to nine oval or round leaflets 

 that are either lobed or deeply toothed ; and the upper also pinnate, 

 with the segments of the leaflets few and very narrow. The umbels 

 are terminal, with from eight to sixteen slender rays, and no bracts. 

 The flowers are small and white, and appear from July to September. 

 The Wild Carrot {Daucus Carota) of the same order is also com- 

 mon in pastures. It is an erect plant, with a tap root, and a branch- 

 ing stem from one to two 

 feet high. The lower 

 leaves are two or three 

 times pinnate, with seg- 

 ments pinnately divided 

 into narrow lobes. The 

 upper leaves are much 

 smaller, with narrower 

 divisions. The umbels 

 are large and terminal, 

 on long stalks. The rays 

 are numerous and 

 crowded ; the middle ones 

 being shorter, with pale 

 purple flowers ; and the 

 outer ones longer, with 

 white flowers. After 

 flowering the rays close 

 together, forming a dense, 

 globular mass, or an in- 

 verted cone, concave at 

 the top, thus more or less 

 covering the fruits, in which they are aided by the long, narrow 

 lobes of both the primary and secondary bracts. The fruits are 

 covered with little hooked prickles. 



The Devil's-bit Scabious {Scabiosa succisa — order Dipsacece) is 

 very common in the pastures of almost all parts of Britain, and 

 much resembles the Field Scabious (p. 290) in general habit. Its 

 stem is erect, branching, from one to two feet high. The 

 radical leaves are stalked, ovate or oblong, and generally quite 

 entire ; and the stem-leaves, which are few, are of the same general 

 form, but are sessile, and sometimes slightly toothed. The heads of 

 purple-blue flowers are on long peduncles, and each one is surrounded 



THF Burnet Saxifrage. 



