GAMOPETALiE 301 



Scabious affords for scabies, a skin disease. It is to 

 be found in pastures, on dry banks, open woods, 

 cultivated places, cornfields, where the lovely masses 

 of blue flowers form a striking contrast to the golden 

 corn. It is found on clay or loam in neutral grass- 

 land with pasture grasses, St. John's Wort, Tormentil, 

 Meadow Crane's Bill, Burnet Saxifrage, Sulphur- 

 wort, Wild Carrot, Oxeye Daisy, Long-rooted Cat's 

 Ear, Harebell, Germander Speedwell, Selfheal, 

 Ribwort Plantain, etc. It also occurs on chalk 

 grassland. 



The habit is erect. The plant is tall, much branched 

 above, with a stout rootstock, very hairy or bristly, 

 especially below. The radical leaves are numerous, 

 oblong to lance-shaped, stalked, simple, entire, 

 toothed or scalloped, the stem-leaves deeply divided 

 or lobed, toothed, broad below, stalkless. All may 

 be pinnatifid in some cases. 



The convex capitula or flowerheads are pale lilac 

 or blue, flattened, borne on long, stout stalks, with 

 broad, leafy, involucral bracts in two series, the 

 involucre being blunt, short. The involucels are very 

 small and hairy. 



The outer florets are larger, more oblique than 

 those in the centre, and four-lobed. The calyx has 

 eight awned teeth. The receptacle bears hairs 

 between the florets. The corolla is hairy, the inner 

 ones being redder, the outer larger, unequal and 

 radiating. The anthers are yellow. 



The limb of the calyx falls at length. The fruit is 



