THE WEEDS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 117 



Popular Description. A so-called thistle with yellow flowers. The Saffron 

 or False Star Thistle (Cwrtliamibs or Kentrophyllum lanalum), also has yel- 

 low flowers, but they are very much larger, and the plant' is altogether larger, 

 more robust, and more rigid than the Cockspur. The flower-head is sur- 

 rounded with prickly involucral bracts. The leaves are hoary and even 

 .slightly silky. The edges of the leaves are wavy. Their shape may be 

 made out from the accompanying plate. It will be observed that they clasp 

 and run down the stem, a characteristic which may be noted. The shape 

 of the seed can be readily made out from the drawing. It is larger than 

 that of St. Barnaby's Thistle (Cvntaurea solstitialis) . 



Botanical Description. 



The Cockspur is not a British plant, and therefore a description of it will 

 not be found in the ordinary British text-books. It may be described as 

 follows: An erect, rigid annual, slightly woolly white. Stem-leaves narrow, 

 entire or nearly so, decurrent. Flower-heads terminal, sessile, ovoid. Recept- 

 acle with bristles. Outer involucral bracts with short palmate spines, inter- 

 mediate bracts with a long spreading terminal spine and short divaricate spines 

 at the base. Inner bracts with only a short terminal spine. E'lorets yellow,* all 

 tubular. Pappus bristly. 



How to get rid of it. It is a proscribed plant under the Victorian Thistle 

 Act, and it is even worse in New South Wales than in the southern State. 

 It is an annual, and should be cut down as it begins to flower. Do not allow 

 it to mature its seed. Farmers will be disposed to reply, " That is easier 

 said than done," but without setting ourselves at present to the herculean 

 task of freeing the country from its worst weeds, the Cockspur is a weed 

 that must be dealt with seriously. It is nothing less than terrible to reflect 

 on the havoc worked by weeds in this country of recent years. The galling 

 part of it is that much of the mischief is preventable. 



Where found. It attains its full luxuriance in the dry western Country. 

 It is not a native of Australia, and has extended here just as it has to most 

 of the warmer countries of the world. Dr. Schomburgk states that it was 

 first introduced into South Australia in 1844. It is a native of the 

 Mediterranean regions. 



The Local Government Department's list of shires and municipalities 

 in which this weed is proclaimed, shows that it is spreading, but does not 

 fully indicate its spread. We have it from Byrock and Tenterfield, so that 

 Tvith Culcairn the State is pretty well embraced. It will also stand the cold 

 of Jenolan Caves and other cold places. 



It is frequently confused with other Star Thistles, though the hope may 

 be expressed that the present book will tend to reduce errors of that kind. 



SHIRES. 



'Cessnock Coonabarabran Terania Wollondilly. 



Culcairn Tamarang Wingadee 



MUNICIPALITIES. 



Botany Lismoro Tumut Windsor. 



Coonamble Murwillumbah 



