12 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



from the Latin serrnla, a little saw ; notwithstanding 1 this 

 it has occasionally been found with its foliage entirely free 

 from these serrations. The flower-heads cluster on the 

 ends of the flowering- stems. Some, it will be seen, are 

 rather larger and stouter-looking- than the others. The 

 plant is what is termed botanically diacious, and if we 

 open some of the heads we shall find that all the florets 

 have stamens alone, while other heads on the same plant 

 have pistils alone. The florets are normally purple, but, 

 like many other purple flowers, and particularly purple 

 composites, they vary occasionally to white. The involucre, 

 or flask-like portion within which the florets are contained, 

 is covered by numerous small and tightly-adherent bracts, 

 the outer ones being- often more or less coloured towards 

 their tips. They are at times smooth to the touch, and at 

 others we find a slight cobweb-like down on them. The 

 specific name tinctoria, Latin in its origin, refers to its use 

 in dyeing. 



