Daisies and Thistles 199 
Before leaving the Dandelion, I would add that it 
is one of the many plants that appear to have a 
definite period of the day during which the flower- 
head remains open. This is said to be from 7 a.m. to 
5 p.m., and this no doubt has intimate relation to the 
habits of the insects that visit it. Miiller has recorded 
no less than ninety-three species that come to partake 
of the abundance of good cheer offered: the nectar 
rises so high in the corolla-tube that it is generally 
accessible. The Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Hieracium 
pilosella) is open only from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the 
Goat’s-beard (Tragopogon pratensis) opens as early as 
4a.m.,and closes eight hours later. This circumstance 
has given the last-mentioned the alternative name of 
“ John-go-to-bed-at-noon.” Like Dandelion, the Goat’s- 
beard has solitary yellow flower - heads, composed 
entirely of rayed florets. The very long involucral 
bracts are eight only, and these are joined together at 
their base. The pappus-hairs are feathered, and of a 
stiffer character than in Dandelion; the leaves, too, 
are altogether different, being very long and slender, 
hke grass-leaves. 
Closely allied to the Composite family, but 
separated by botanists, is a small family known as 
the Dipsacez. So far as our native flora is concerned 
it contains the Teasel and the Scabious only. The 
principal distinction between these and the Composites 
lies in the condition of the anthers, which are united 
into a ring in the latter, whilst in Teasel and Scabious 
they are all free. Again, these plants have a distinct 
calyx invested by a series of bracts (involucel), instead 
of having it split up into a series of hairs, as shown in 
Dandelion and other true Composites. 
