192 COMPOSITE. [CARIHTS. 



smooth, mottled. DiSTRlB. Europe from Holland southwards, W. Asia. 

 Young parts eatable as salad, and cooked. 



** Upper surface of leaves hairy or pubescent, 

 f Stem branched, very leafy, or 0. Leaves harsh, rigidly spinous. 



6. C. acauiis, L. ; stem usually very short, leaves pinnatifid, segments 

 3_4-lobed, heads sessile or on naked peduncles, involucre ovoid glabrous, 

 bracts appressed ciliate mucronate. 



Gravellv and chalky pastures in England, from Chester and Lincoln southwards: 

 fl. July-Sept. Perennial, glabrous or pilose ; usually stemless with one 

 subsessile head, rarely elongate with a leafy branched stem, 8-18 in., and 

 several peduncled heads. Leaves sessile or petioled, oblong-lanceolate, rigid, 

 very spinous. Heads 1-2 in. ; involucre ovoid in flower, campanulate in 

 fruit ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, mucronate ; inner very long, linear. Ftotrers 

 crimson. Fruit smooth, glabrous, brown ; pappus dirty white. DISTRIB. 

 Europe from Gothland southwards (excl. Greece and Turkey), Siberia, 

 Dahuria, W. Asia. A troublesome weed in pastures. 



7. C. arven'sis, Curtis ; erect, dioecious, rootstock creeping, leaves 

 pinnatifid, heads many, male involucre subglobose, female ovoid, outer 

 bracts with short spreading spines, inner acuminate. 



Fields and waste places, &c., ascending to near 2,000 ft. in Northumberland ; 

 fl. July-Sept. Perennial, very spiuous, 2-4 ft.; male and female plants in 

 separate, large patches. Stem angled and grooved, more or less cottony, 

 rarely glabrous. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, lower petioled, upper slightly 

 decurrent, sinuate lobed or pinnatifid, setose or spinous. Heads -1 in. 

 diam., corymbose; peduncle short; involucre J-f in., bracts appressed, 

 ciliate, tips rigid spinous ; inner obtuse, tips toothed. Floictrs dingy purple. 

 Fruit smooth, shining ; pappus dirty white. DiSTRlB. Europe, Siberia, W. 

 Asia to India, N. Africa ; introd. in N. America.- The commonest pest 

 of agriculture. A hybrid occurs between this and C. acauiis. 



Sub-sp. ARVEN'SIS proper; stem flexuous, leaves pinnatifid very spinous, 

 upper J-amplexicaul. 



Sub-sp. SETO'SUS, Bieb. (sp.); stem more simple and strict, leaves sessile 

 oblong-lanceolate obtuse sinuate-lobed or subpinnatifid, margins setose. 

 Orkney, Fife, &c. ; very rare, and supposed to be introduced. 



8. C. pains 'tris, L. ; stem winged, leaves decurrent pinnatifid, lobes 

 2-3-fid, segments acuminate spinescent, heads in leafy clusters, involucre 

 cottony, bracts appressed, outer mucronate, inner acuminate. 



Wet meadows, ditches, &c., ascending to 2,400ft. in the Highlands ; fl. July- 

 Sept. Biennial, soft, stout, erect, 2-4 ft., branched, very spinous. Leaves 

 very decurrent, hairy on both surfaces ; lobes narrow. Heads f in. diam. ; 

 involucre J in., ovoid, bracts purplish-green. Flowers dark purple. Fruit 

 pale, narrow, smooth ; pappus dirty white. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), 

 Siberia. Stalks formerly eaten. A hybrid between this and C. pratemis 

 (C. Forsteri, Sm.) is found in bogs in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, 

 ft Stem usually simple, not winged. Leaves soft, spines few. Heads 1 or fete. 



9. C. praten'sis, Hudson; cottony, rootstock stoloniferous, roots 

 fibrous, leaves lanceolate sinuate-toothed or subpinnatifid, heads usually 

 solitary, involucre hemispherical. Cirsium anglicum, Lamk. 



