10 FAMILIAR WILD FLU WEES. 



or tribes, and these are three in number : the Chicoracece, 

 the Cynarocejohalce, and the Cory mdif free. Without going 

 at too great a length into dry and formal botanical details, 

 we may be able to give an idea of the peculiarities of each, 

 as the knowledge, once gained, will enable our readers 

 themselves to assign to their proper tribe any composite 

 plants which they may find. In the first tribe all 

 the florets of the flower-head are ligulate and perfect. 

 Ligulate is a term that refers to the form of the flower ; 

 it is derived from the Latin ligula, a little tongue. If 

 we examine any flower-head of this tribe, we shall find that 

 each floret has its corolla on one side produced into a broad 

 tongue, or strap-like portion, and this, as in the dandelion, 

 forms by far the most conspicuous portion of the whole 

 arrangement. At a cursory glance all small details of 

 structure are lost, but we can at once give a good idea of a 

 dandelion by drawing a number of these radiating strap- 

 like forms. The term " perfect " signifies that every floret 

 is provided with both pistil and pollen-bearing anthers. The 

 sow-thistle, the dandelion, the hawkweed, and the chicory 

 are all good examples of this tribe of composites, and have 

 all appeared amongst our illustrations. The second tribe, 

 that to which the saw-wort belongs, has all the florets in 

 each flower-head tubular instead of ligulate, and all are 

 perfect in some of the species, or the inner ones are perfect 

 and the outer ones neuter in others. The various kinds of 

 thistles and knapweeds and the brilliant cornflower are all 

 good illustrations of this tribe. The third tribe is a very 

 extensive one, and, at first sight, less recognisable than the 

 other two. The greater number of the species which com- 

 pose it have radiate flowers such, for example, as the 

 ox-eye or the daisy and then they are readily distinguish- 



