374 COMPOSITE. 



downy. Moist pastures, not common. A stout plant, 

 3 5 feet high, with very large leaves and a few ter- 

 minal very large heads of bright yellow flowers. The 

 root contains a white starchy powder, named Inuline, 

 a volatile oil, a soft acrid resin, and a bitter extract ; it 

 is used in diseases of the chest and lungs, and furnishes 

 the Yin d"Aulnee of the French. Fl. July, August. 

 Perennial. 



2. /. Conyza (Ploughman's Spikenard). Leaves nar- 

 row, egg-shaped, downy, toothed ; heads of flowers 

 panicled ; scales of the involucre rolled back. Hedges, 

 principally on a limestone or chalky soil, frequent. 

 Distinguished by its dull green foliage, numerous 

 heads of dingy yellow flowers, the rays of which are 

 inconspicuous, and by the leaf-like scales of the in- 

 volucre, which are rolled back. Fl. July September. 

 Perennial. 



3. /. crithmoides (Golden Samphire). Leaves very 

 narrow, fleshy, smooth, blunt, or 3-pointed. Salt 

 marshes, and sea-cliffs, rare. Well distinguished from 

 every other British plant by its fleshy leaves and large 

 yellow flowers, which grow singly at the extremity of 

 the branches. Fl. July, August. Perennial. 



39. PULICARIA (Flea-bane). 



1 . P. dysenterica (Common Flea-bane). Stem woolly ; 

 leaves oblong, heart or arrow-shaped at the base, em- 

 bracing the stem ; scales of the involucre bristle-shaped. 

 Watery places, common ; rare in Scotland. From 

 1 2 feet high, growing in masses, and well marked 

 by its soft hoary foliage and large flat heads of bright 

 yellow flowers, those of the ray being very numerous, 

 narrow, arid longer than the disk. Fl. August. Per- 

 ennial. 



2. P. vulgdris (Small Flea-bane). Stem hairy ; leaves 

 narrow, tapering, hairy. Sandy heaths, where water 



