ORDER LXIV. COMPOSITE COMPOSITE-FAMILY. 



173 



smooth. A pretty little plant with slender scapes, 1' 6' high. Common in dry- 

 soils. May July. 



49. LE6NTODON. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre scarcely imbricated, with 

 several small scales at base. Receptacle naked. Pappus plumose, 

 persistent. Achenia striate, somewhat rostrate. Per. 



1. L. autumnalis. 



Autumn Dandelion. 



Acaulescent ; scape smooth, branching ; leaves radical, lanceolate, pinnatifld ; 

 peduncles scaly, thickened upwards; heads yellow, on separate peduncles, re- 

 sembling somewhat those of the dandelion. Naturalized in E. N. Eng., and 

 common in fields and road-sides. Scape 6' 15' high, bearing several heads. 

 July Nov. 



50. TRAGOP6GON. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre with numerous scales in a 

 single row. Receptacle naked. Pappus plumose. Achenia stri- 

 ate, with a long filiform beak. Bien. 



1. T. porrifolius. Salsify. Vegetable Oyster. 



Leaves long, linear, entire; heads terminal, solitary, large, bluish-purple, on 

 peduncles thickened above; involucre-scales much longer than the corollas. A 

 garden vegetable, -with showy flowers, chiefly cultivated for the root, which Is 

 in some esteem as an esculent. Stem 1 2 ft. high. July Aug. 



51. LACTfJCA. 



Heads several-flowered. Involucre-scales in 2 or more rows. 

 Pappus copious, fugacious, soft and capillary. Achenia com- 

 pressed, with long, filiform beaks. 



1. L. elongata. Wild Lettuce. 



Stem tall, stout, usually leafy, branching above; leaves smooth, paler 

 beneath ; lower ones clasping, runcinate ; upper ones lanceolate, entire, sessile ; 

 heads small, numerous, racemose on the branches, forming a long, naked 

 I>fliiiole ; corolla yellow, rarely purple ; achenia oval, about as long as the beak. 

 A very variable plant, abounding in a milky juice, 2 6 ft high, common In 

 rich, moist soils. The most marked varieties are var. 1, integrifolia, which has 

 the leaves mostly entire, and var. 2, sanguinea, with a more slender, less leafy, 

 and often purple stem, and the leaves all clasping, and runcinate, glaucous 

 beneath. JBien. 



2. L. sativa. 



Garden Lettuce. 



Stem smooth, branching, corymbose above ; leaves more or less orbicular, 

 very smooth ; cauline ones cordate ; heads numerous, small, yellow, in termi- 

 nal corymbs. A common garden annual with a milky juice, universally culti- 

 vated for salad. June July. 



52. MULGEDIUM. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre-scales in 2 or more rows ; 

 outer series short, imbricated ; achenia compressed, striate, with 

 a short, thick beak Pappus soft, capillary, copious, crowning the 

 achenium. Bicn. 



1. M. leucophseum. 



Blue Lettuce. 



Stem tall, branching above, very leafy; leaves pinnatifid, or runcinate, 

 coarsely toothed ; uppermost sessile, often undivided ; heads small, numerous, 

 pale blue, on bracteate and scaly peduncles, forming a long, terminal panicle; 

 pappus tawny. A tall plant, with a milky juice, resembling a Lactuca, but dis- 

 tinguished by its bluish corollas. Stein 3 10 ft. high. Common in low 

 grounds and thickets. Aug. Sep. 



53. IIIEEACIUM. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre-scales usually more or less 

 imbricate. Achenia striate, oblong, more or less rostrate. Pap- 

 pus of tawny, fragile, capillary bristles, in a single row. Flowers 

 yellow. Per. 



1. H. Canadense. Canadian Hawkweed. 



Stem leafy, somewhat pubescent ; leaves lanceolate, or oblong-ovate, acute, 

 dentate with coarse and acute teeth, sessile ; upper ones somewhat clasping ; 

 heads large, on hairy peduncles, forming a terminal, paniculate corymb; in- 

 volucre-scales linear, imbricated. A stout species, with showy flowers, not un- 

 common in dry woods. Stem 1 2 ft high. Aug. 



2. H. venosum. Veiny Hawkweed. 



Mostly acaulescent ; stem or scape slender, smooth, often with 1 or 2 leaves, 

 branching, loosely corymbose above ; radical leaves obovate, sometimes oblong, 



nearly entire, on very short petioles, hairy above, nearly smooth and glaucous 

 beneath, ciliate, marked with purplish veins ; peduncles slender ; heads rather 

 small, solitary, bright yellow. A common species in dry woods, distinguished 

 by its purple-veined leaves. Scape or stem 1 2 ft high, rarely leafy at base. 

 Jtdy Aug. 



3. H. G-ronovii. 



Hairy Hawkweed. 



Stem erect, virgate, mostly simple, leafy and hairy below, nearly naked 

 above ; leaves obovate, or oblong, entire, ciliate, hairy, especially on the mid- 

 vein beneath ; heads on glandular, rather short pedicels, arranged in a long, 

 oblong panicle; involucre somewhat glandular; achenia enlarged upwards, 

 almost rostrate. A very hairy species, 1 3 ft high, not uncommon in dry 

 soils. Aug. 



4. H. scabrum. 



Hough Hawkweed. 



Stem leafy, nearly simple, rough, hairy ; leaves hairy, nearly entire ; lower 

 ones obovate, slightly petiolate, upper ones oval, sessile ; peduncle thick, glan- 

 dular-hispid ; beads 40 50 flowered, at first in a racemose, but finally some- 

 what corymbose panicle ; involucre densely glandular- hispid. A rough species, 

 15' 24' high, common in dry soils. 



5. H. paniculatum. 



Slender Hawkweed. 



Stem slender, with spreading branches, leafy, covered with whitish hairs 

 below ; leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, tapering at both ends, smooth, 

 thin, denticulate; heads very small, on long, slender peduncles, forming a loose 

 panicle. A slender and comparatively delicate species, 1 3 ft. high, common 

 in damp woods and thickets. Aug. 



6. H. aurantiacum. Golden Hawkweed. 



Stem leafy, hispid ; leaves oblong, somewhat acute, pilose, hispid ; heads 

 large, orange-colored, in dense corymbs. A garden species. 



54. NABALUS. 



Involucre cylindrical, with 5 10 linear scales in one row, and 

 a few, short, appressed scales at base. Receptacle naked. Pap- 

 pus-bristles copious, capillary, brownish, or straw-color, in two 

 series. Achenia striate, linear-oblong, without beaks. Per. 



1. N. albus. White Lettuce. 



Stem tall, smooth, somewhat glaucous, corymbosely paniculate abovo; 

 leaves angular-hastate, often 8 5-lobed ; upper ones ovate, dentate, or oblong, 

 entire ; involucre purplish, consisting of about 8 scales ; heads 8 12-flowered 

 in axillary and terminal, nodding racemes ; pappus brownish. A stout plant, 

 24 ft. high, with very variable, often deeply lobed leaves, common in woods. 

 Aug. 



2. N. altissimus. Tall Wfiite Lettuce. 



Smooth; stem slender, tall; leaves triangular-ovate, cordate, petiolate, 

 variously lobed and toothed, or else nearly entire ; petioles naked or margined ; 

 involucre of 5 greenish scales ; heads nodding, 5 6-flowered in axillary and 

 terminal racemes, forming a long, leafy, virgate panicle ; pappus of a dirty white 

 or pale straw-color. A tall species, 36 ft. high, with exceedingly variable 

 leaves, common In woods. Aug. 



55. TABAXACUM. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucre double ; oxiter series of short 

 scales ; inner of linear, appressed ones. Receptacle naked, 

 Achenia oblong, with a long, filiform beak, crowned with the 

 white, copious, capillary pappus. Per. 



1. T. Dens-Leonis. Dandelion. 



Acaulescent ; smooth or nearly so ; scapes several, hollow, naked, 1-flowered ; 

 leaves runcinately toothed; heads large, erect, yellow; outer involucre re- 

 flexed. A very common plant in fields and pastures, with a tuft of radical 

 leaves, from which arise several scapes, which elongate after flowering; the in- 

 ner involucre, at first closed, Is reflexed, and the achenia with their long beaks, 

 supporting an abundant pappus, form a white, globular head. Aprii Oct. 



56. S6NCHUS. 



Heads many-flowered, at length tumid at base. Involucre- 

 scales imbricate, unequal. Receptacle naked. Pappus-bristles 

 copious, white, very soft and capillary, in several series. Achenia 

 compressed, without beaks. AM. 



1. S. oleraceus. Sow-Thistle. 



Smooth and glaucous; leaves runcinate, or sometimes nearly entire, 



