THE DANDELION. 47 



addition, clashes with one of the established rules of 

 blazonry that lions, whatever their tincture, except it be 

 red, or they are charged on a field of that tincture, are 

 armed and lang-ued gules, but azure in the case of either 

 of these exceptions, unless the contrary be specified in 

 the blazon. The teeth of the lion of heraldry are, there- 

 fore, ordinarily red or blue in colour, not golden. The 

 jagged form of the outline of the leaf furnishes a third 

 explanation of the popular name, the pointed lobes being 

 really very suggestive of the pointed form of the four more 

 conspicuous teeth, two in either jaw, of the lion ; and this 

 surmise appears to meet, amongst botanical students and 

 writers, with most general acceptance. 



The leaves of the dandelion are subjact to a very con- 

 siderable variation of form, in some cases being deeply cut 

 into segments, while in others the segments or lobes form 

 a much less conspicuous feature. These lateral lobes, it 

 will be noticed, ordinarily point downwards in their general 

 direction, unlike such features in the majority of plants 

 where they will be found to point towards the apex of the 

 leaf. The simpler form of leaf above referred to is one of 

 the characteristic features that has led many botanists to 

 admit a sub-species the marsh dandelion, or T. palustre. 



The plant may be found in flower almost throughout 

 the year, though its golden heads of blossom are more 

 especially conspicuous in the earlier months of summer. 

 It is a perennial, and the long, tapering root-stock pene- 

 trates so deeply that it is a difficult plant to dislodge, 

 while each wind sends the seeds flying over the country 

 side. In our illustration the greater number of the seeds 

 have been thus scattered. Before the seeds are fully ripe 

 and ready for dispersal the head is globular, and from its 



