240 COMPOSITE. (composite family.) 



80. PYRRHOPAPPUS, DC. False Dandelion. 



Heads, &c. nearly as in Taraxacum ; the soft pappus reddish or rusty-color, 

 and with a villous ring at the top of the long beak. — Mostly annual or biennial 

 herbs, often branching and leafy-stemmed. Heads solitary, pretty large, termi- 

 nating the naked summit of the stem or branches. Flowers deep yellow. 

 (Name composed of 7rvppos, flame-colored, and Trannos, pappus.) 



1. P. Caroiiliifoius, DC. Stem branching below (l°-2° high), 

 leaves oblong or lanceolate, entire, cut, or pinnatifid, the stem-leaves partly 

 clasping. — Sandy fields, from Maryland southward. April - July. 



81. L.ACTIJCA, Tourn. Lettuce. 



Heads several-flowered. Scales of the involucre imbricated in 2 or more sets 

 of unequal lengths. Achcnia flat (compressed parallel to the scales of the invo- 

 lucre), abruptly contracted into a long thread-form beak, bearing a copious and 

 fugacious pappus of very soft and white capillary bristles. — Leafy -stemmed 

 herbs, with paniclcd heads; the flowers of variable color. (The ancient name 

 of the Lettuce, L. sativa; from lac, milk, in allusion to the milky juice.) 



1. Ei. clongata, Mubl. (Wild Lettuce.) Stem tall and stout (2°- 

 9° high, hollow) ; leaves partly clasping, pale beneath ; the upper lanceolate 

 and entire ; the lower runcinate-pinnatifid ; heads in a long and narrow naked 

 panicle ; achenia oval ; flowers pale yellow, varying to purple. — Varies greatly ; 

 the leading form smooth or nearly so, with long leaves: — the var. integri- 

 f6lia is mostly smooth, with the leaves nearly all entire, and the flowers yel- 

 low or bluish (L. intcgrifblia, Bigel.) : — the var. sangulnea is smaller, mostly 

 hairy, and witli runcinate leaves, and the flowers very variously colored (L. san- 

 guinea, Bigel.). — Rich damp soil, borders of thickets, &c. July -Sept. 



82. MVLGEDIIim, Cass. False or Blue Lettuce. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre, &c. as in Lactuca. Achenia laterally 

 compressed, striate or ribbed, the summit contracted into a short and thick beak 

 or neck, of the same texture, expanded at the apex into a ciliatc disk, which 

 bears a copious rather deciduous pappus of soft capillary bristles. — Leafy- 

 stemmed herbs, with the general aspect and foliage of Lactuca. Heads racemed 

 or panicled; the flowers chiefly blue. (Name from mulgeo, to milk.) 

 # Pappus bright white : flowers blue. 



1. M. acmninatuin, DC. Smooth, paniclcd above (3° -6° high); 

 stem-leaves ovate and ovate-lanceolate, pointed, merely toothed, sometimes hairy on 

 the midrib beneath, contracted at the base into a winged petiole ; the lowest 

 often sinuate; heads loosely panicled. © — Borders of thickets, New York to 

 Illinois, and southward. — Probably only a state of the next. 



2. M. Florid a mi m, DC. Nearly smooth (3° -6° high) ; leaves all ly- 

 rate or runcinate, the divisions sharply toothed ; heads in a loose compound pan- 

 icle. (D — Varies with the upper leaves clasping by a heart-shaped base, &c. — 

 Rich soil, S. Penn., and Ohio to Illinois, and southward. Aug. 



