COMPOUND FLOWERS U3 



importance in days when falconry was practised. The Greeks, apparently 

 from this opinion, gave the Hawkweed the name of Accipiirirm, and hence the 

 English Hawkweed, as well as the French E2:>ervihe and Herbe a Epervier. 

 The Gei'mans also call it Hahichtskraut ; the Dutch, ffaviksruid ; and the 

 Spaniards and Portuguese term it Hieracio. Coles, in his " History of Plants," 

 written in 1657, says: "I shall treat of this plant as appropriated to the 

 eyes " ; and Dale tells us that taken inwardly the Hawkweed sharpens the 

 sight, and expels black bile. 



14. Nipple-wort (Ldpsana). 



1. Common Nipple-wort {L. communis). — Leaves stalked, toothed, 

 heart-shaped at the base ; stem branched ; flower-heads numerous ; pappus 

 none ; root annual. This is a very common plant in July and August by 

 hedges and roadsides, ofiering little to attract in its pale yellow heads, which 

 are very small in proportion to the size of the plant. It is generally two or 

 three feet high, with many heads each about the size of a threepenny piece, 

 and leaves of very different forms on different parts of the plant. The 

 upper ones are either entire or simply toothed, the lower ones more or less 

 cut, and having several small lobes running down the leaf-stalks. This plant 

 is sometimes called Swine's-cress, and Succory Dock-cress ; and the young 

 spring leaves, which have somewhat the flavour of radishes, are eaten in 

 Turkey among salad herbs. The foliage in a warmer climate loses probably 

 some of its bitterness, as it would hardly be I'elished in its uncooked state in 

 our country, though in some parts of England it is boiled by the peasantry. 

 It is also used medicinally in villages. The French call it La Lampsane 

 commune, and the Germans Der BainkoJil ; the Spaniards term it Lampsana ; 

 and the Dutch, Akkermoes. 



2. Dwarf Nipple-wort {L. pusllla). — Flower-stalk branched, very thick, 

 and hollow at the upper part ; leaves oblong, somewhat egg-shaped, toothed ; 

 pappus a short entire leathery border ; root annual. This is a rare species, 

 occvuTing in some cultivated lands in the east of England and Scotland, and 

 having, in July and August, small yellow flowers on leafless stalks, which 

 swell and become hollow upwards. It is seldom more than six inches high. 

 Also known as Arnoseris pusilla, and Swine's Succory. 



15. Succory {Cichdrium). 



Wild Succory (C. infybus). — Heads of flowers sessile, axillary, in pairs ; 

 lower leaves toothed, with their segments pointing backwards, hairy on the 

 back of the vein, upper ones clasping, oblong or lanceolate, entire ; stem 

 erect, branched ; root perennial. This beautiful plant is frequently to be met 

 with wherever the soil is light, gravelly, or chalky. In the harvest field its 

 tough stems cause much trouble, and it clusters in quantities on field-borders 

 or hedge-banks by the roadside, meriting well its pretty old German name, 

 which signifies keeper of the ways. It is a somewhat ragged, shaggy-looking 

 plant, even when in fullest beauty, for its large flowers, blue as the sky, 

 wither away one by one, and remain attached to the stems while the young 

 buds are yet expanding. The blue star-like head is as large as a dandelion, 

 but not so full of florets, and it grows close to the stem, which is from one 



