94 



27. COMPOST T.^:. 



late, deciirrent, with ciliate-spinixlose edges and long, stiff 

 yellow spines teiminating the short lobes ; heads sessile, 

 terminal, solitary or 2-4 together, within floral leaves re- 

 sembling an outer involucre and longer than the heads; 

 involucre oval-oblong, woolly, with linear appressed bracts 

 ending in a .solitary, recurved spine with spinules pinnately 

 ai-ranged: seeds glossy, yellowish-brown, with 5 white longi- 

 tudinal streaks ; flowers purple. 



Roadsides and pastures near Sellick's Hill. Called 

 locally Soldifr Thistle. — Dec. -Feb. — Mediterranean region. 



20. C.\RDUUS, L. 

 Only differs from Cirsiuiii in ha\ing a pappus of simple, 

 not plumose, hairs. 



1. Carduus tenuiflorus, Curtis. Shuder Thistle. 

 Erect, woolly annual or Ijimmial. with nuiny rather slender 

 branches, winged throughout, the wings wavy and sinuate- 

 spiny : leaves green and somewhat hairy above, white-woolly 

 below, decurrent, the lower ones 

 deeply pinnatifid ; heads small, 

 about 2 cm. (J in.) long by 1 cm. 

 (under i in.) broad, deciduous, 

 usually sessile and forming a 

 terminal cluster ; involucre cylin- 

 drical-oblong, slightly woolly, 

 bracts lanceolate, erect-spread- 

 ing, keeled, ending in a weak 

 spine, the inner bracts with 

 white-scarious points as long as 

 the flowers, which are purple; 

 akenes greyish, glossy but stri- 

 ate; pappus white, nearly as 

 long as the floAver. 



Torrens Gorge ; common at 

 Mount Gambier and Naracoorte. 

 — Oct. -Jan. — Western and .south- 

 ern Europe. A species sometimes 

 united with C. pifcnoccphalus, 

 L., which has, however, larger, 

 numerous heads and 

 not winged at tlio 



ovoid, less 



peduncles 



summit. 



Carduus tenuiflorus. 



21. Cent.\ukk.\, L. 

 Tnvolucral bracts numerous, overlapping, surmounted 

 by a torn, ciliate or spiny appendage, iloweis all tubular, 

 the outer row usually sterile; akenes oljlong, compressed, 

 withoiit ribs, truncate and naked at summit or crowned by 

 a short pappus of free .scales in several unequal rows; 

 receptacle bristly. 

 Flowers yellow; loaves docurront. 



Heads solitary ; iiivolurral bracts with a very 



long spine and spinules palniately arranged ('. so/stitiu/is 1 



