COMPOSITE FAMILY 



295 



may be distinguished by its much larger flower-heads and generally 

 unbranched stem. — Fl. August, September. Perennial. 



4. S. palustris (Marsh Sow-thistle). — A much taller plant than 

 either of the preceding, growing 4 — 7 feet high, unbranched ; 

 leaves narrow, arrow-shaped at the base, finely toothed ; heads 

 corymbose, large, lemon-yellow ; involucre 

 and peduncles hairy with glandular hairs. — 

 Marshes in the south-east ; very rare. 



49. Tragopogon (Goat's - beard). — 

 Erect, glabrous, generally unbranched 

 herbs with a milky juice ; leaves scattered, 

 entire, sheathing ; heads solitary, yellow or 

 purple; bracts 8 — 10, long, narrow, in one 

 row, united below ; receptacle naked ; jruit 

 with longitudinal ridges and a long, slender 

 beak; pappus of many rows of feathery 

 hairs. (Name from the Greek tragos^ a 

 goat, pogon, a beard.) 



I. T. pratensis (Goat's-beard, Jack-go- 

 to-bed-at-noon). — An erect, glaucous plant, 

 about 2 feet high, with very long, tapering, 

 channelled, grass-like leaves ; flower- stalks 

 slightly thickened above ; involucre about 

 as long as, or longer than the florets ; heads 

 solitary, large, yellow, closing at noon; 

 pappus feathery, on a long stalk, interlaced 

 so as to form a kind of shallow cup. — 

 Meadows and waste places ; common. — 

 Fl. June, July. Biennial. 



2."^ T. porrifolius (Salsify), resembling 

 the last, but with purple heads, though not 

 a British species, is occasionally found in 

 moist meadows. It was formerly much 

 cultivated for the sake of its fleshy tap-root, 

 which was boiled or stewed, forming a 

 very delicate esculent ; but its place is 

 now supplied by Scorzonera hispdnica. 



TRAGOPOGON J-RAT^NSE 



{Yellow Goafs-beard). 



§§ Stamens on the ovary (epigynous) 

 Ord. XLII. Campanulace^.— The Bell-Flower Family 

 A considerable Order of herbaceous or slightly shrubby plants, 

 with a bitter, acrid, milky juice, which chiefly inhabit the 

 temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They have 



