LARGER 



THE 

 KNAPWEED. 



Nat. Ord., 



Ccntaurea Scabiosa. 

 Composite. 



HE species of knapweed we have 

 here represented, though of very 

 general distribution, is somewhat 

 local. It is found freely almost 

 throughout England, but is one 

 of the rarer plants in Scotland, 

 and seems to thrive best in chalk 

 districts. It flowers throughout 

 the summer and autumn months, 

 and will be found on poor pas- 

 turage, on the waste land that 

 may sometimes be met with bor- 

 dering the hedgerows, in the 

 angles of poorly-tilled fields, and 

 by roadsides. 



It is a rather lough and stout plant, 

 as may readily be found on attempt- 

 ing to pluck a piece a matter of no 

 slight difficulty unless a knife be at hand as no amount of 

 twisting and jerking seems at first sufficient to detach a 

 piece. The stems branch a good deal, and spring boldly 

 up to a height of some three feet or more; it iV therefore 

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