i6a 



COROLLIFLOR.E 



bent back ; stem winged by the thorny leaves. A very handsome 

 plant, about 2 feet high, with a furrowed cottony stem, deeply 

 k)bed thorny leaves, which are downy on the veins beneath, and 

 large deep purple flowers, to which the radiated involucre is a very 

 ornamental appendage. This is sometimes called the Scotch 

 Thistle, but incorrectly. The upper part of the flower-stalk is 

 nearly bare of leaves, and the flower itself has a powerful odour. 

 Waste places ; common. Fl. June to August. Biennial. 



2. C. acanthoides (Welted Thistle). Heads clustered, round ; 

 scales of the involucre lined, thorny, spreading, or erect ; stem 

 winged by the thorny leaves. A branched, very thorny plant, 

 3-4 feet high, with small heads, of deep purple or sometimes white, 

 flowers. Waste places ; common. Fl. June, July. Annual. 



3. C. tenuiflorus (Slender-flowered Thistle). Heads clustered, 

 cylindrical ; scales of the involucre thorny, erect ; stem winged by 

 the thorny leaves, which are cottony beneath. Well distinguished 

 by the small heads of pink flowers, and the very long erect scales 

 of the involucre. The stems are 2-4 feet high, and bear all the 

 flowers at the summit. Waste places, especially near the sea. 

 Fl. June to August. Biennial. 



4. C. Marianus (Milk Thistle) is a stouter plant than either of 

 the preceding, and is distinguished at once by the white veins on 

 its leaves, from which it derives its popular name. It grows in 

 waste places, is not indigenous, neither is it common. Fl. June, 

 July. Biennial. 



18. Cnicus {Plume-thistle) 



1. C. lanceolatus (Spear Plume-thistle). Heads mostly solitary, 

 sometimes 2 or 3 together, stalked, egg-shaped ; scales of the in- 

 volucre thorny, spreading, woolly ; stem 

 winged by the thorny leaves, the lobes of 

 which are 2-cleft. This is more like the 

 Cotton - thistle (Onopordium) than any 

 other species of this genus. It grows 

 3-5 feet high ; the leaves are downy 

 beneath, and the heads of flowers, though 

 not so large as those of the Cotton-thistle, 

 have the same dull purple hue. Waste 

 places and hedges ; common. Fl. July 

 to September. Biennial. 



2. C. palustris (Marsh Plume-thistle). 

 Heads clustered, egg-shaped ; scales of 

 the involucre closely pressed, pointed ; 

 stem winged by the thorny leaves. The 

 tallest of the British Thistles, 4-10 feet 

 high, consisting of a single, stout, hollow 

 <stem, which is branched near the summit, 



Cnicus Palustris 

 (Marsh Plutn-thislle) 



