Thistles and Nettles 



33' 



to attract insects, the little blossoms have no petals 

 whatever, only four small greenish sepals. 



The florets which bear stamens only have in 

 their midst a little green affair which is the remi- 

 niscence of a pistil. But the pistil now in use has 

 a whole flower to itself, and is surrounded by two 

 pairs of sepals (Fig. 93), the outer couple small 



FIG. 93. Single blossoms of the nettle. 



, Staminate flower just expanding ; b, fully opened staminate flower ; 

 c, pistillate flower. 



and spreading, the inner broader and upright. At 

 the tip of the pistil there is a scattered tuft of 

 hairs, to catch any chance pollen blowing by. 



The nettle is connected with much wonder-lore, 

 folk-lore, and tradition. Moreover, the family in 

 times gone by has been not only famous, but use- 

 ful. Its name is derived from the passive partici- 

 ple of a verb common to most Indo-European Ian- 



