GAMOPETAL.© 303 



Rose, Lady's Cushion, Pincushion, Scabious, Sea- 

 bridge, Scabril. 



ScABiosA ARVENSis. — III Fig. 66 the divided iippcv 

 stem-leaves are shown, with the appressed hairs on 

 the stem and the spreading hairs on the flower-stalks. 

 The Gutter florets are seen to develop first, the central ones, 

 not so large, being undeveloped. The expanded florets 

 are male, with anthers only. 



41. The Dandelion Group (Summary). 



{Introductory Volume, p. i2g.) 



The order Compositse is one of the largest in the 

 whole plant world. There are eleven thousand 

 species and over eight hundred genera. Not only 

 are there a vast number of species, but the group is 

 a dominant one, these plants, like the grass type 

 and the tree type, in some cases giving quite a 

 character to the vegetation. Thus, in an ordinary 

 meadow, the Daisy may constitute nearly the most 

 abundant species when in flower, making the whole 

 field white with bloom. The Hawkweeds in moun- 

 tainous districts are similarly abundant to the exclu- 

 sion of other types. This is partly due to their habit, 

 the rosette habit, which is, of all growth forms, the 

 most adapted to aggressive colonisation or invasion. 

 Furthermore, the floral mechanism is highly 

 specialised and the contrivances for pollination and 

 fruit dispersal are the most suitable, and give the 

 order a pull, as it were, over other types. 



