COMPOSITE, (composite FAMILY.) 415 



caudate at base. Branches of style filiform. Akenes compressed, 

 rarely somewhat terete or oblong, bald — White-woolly herbs, almost 

 stemless. 



* Flm'al leaves longer than the clusters of heads. 



1. E. pyguisea, L. © .02 to .04, simple or branching from 

 neck. Leaves spatlmlate-oblong, obtuse, wooUy-canescent. Scales of 

 involucre and pales glahrescent at hack, ovate, with an abruptly acuminate, 

 spreading tip ; akenes obovate, scabridulous at margin — Spring — 

 Coast. 



2. E. contracta, Boiss. .05 to .1, stemless, or 1-2-branched 

 from neck. Leaves oblong to spathulate, tapering to a petiole, with 

 dilated sheath. Woolly scales of involucre and ovate pales with ab- 

 ruptly acuminate setaceous tip. Akenes ovate, pruinose — Spring — 

 Aleppo to Damascus, coast. Wilderness of Judea, and borders of et- 

 Tih. 



3. E. AnatoSica, Boiss. et Held. .02 to .05, stemless or 

 branching from neck or above. Leaves oblong to linear-lanceolate, 

 acute, 2-3-times as long as cluster. Scales of involucre and pales ob- 

 long-spathulate, boat-shaped, narrow at the glabrous base, w^oolly at 

 the back, tapering abruptly into a short, slender point protruding a 

 little from the wool ; akenes oblong- cylindrical, barely compressed, 

 slightly scabrous — Spring and summer — Common to subalpine re- 

 gions and in deserts. 



* * Floral leaves shorter than clusters, or only as long. 



4. E. eriospliaera, Boiss. et Held. .02 to .04, nearly stem- 

 less, tufted. Leaves liuear-spathulate, tongue-shaped, obtuse. Scales 

 of involucre and pales concave, keeled, very woolly ; akenes obovate, 

 scabridulous at margin — Spring — Coast, near Tripoli. 



y. MICROPUS, L. MiCROPUS. 



Heads small, discoid, few-flowered, clustered. Scales of involucre 

 in 1 row, loose, flat, or obsolete. Receptacle with 1 row of helmet- 

 shaped, laterally flattened pales, enclosing tlie filiform pistillate flow- 

 erets, the centre naked, with few, staminate, tubular, 5-toothed flow- 

 erets. Anthers caudate at base. Branches of style filiform. Akenes 

 flattened, obovate, bald — Annual, more or less wooUy-canescent 

 herbs. 



* Involucre composed of menibranous or leafy scales. Pales unarmed. 



1. M. ereclu§, L. .1 to .2, beset with short wool ; stem 

 erect, diffusely branched from neck or above. Leaves sessile, oblong, 

 wavy-margined, the floral leaves overtajpinng the clusters. Scales of in- 

 volucre membranous, oblong-linear, obtuse ; pales leathery, woolly, 

 incurved, gibbous at back, with a small, oblique beak — Spring — Le- 

 banon and Antilebanon ; Hauran. 



2. M. bombycinu§, Lag. .1 to .2, clothed with long, 

 white wool inflated 2)articularly at clusters ; stem simple or branching. 

 Leaves flat, oblong-linear, with straight margins, the floral 7iot over- 

 topping the clusters. Scales of involucre membranous, oblong-linear, 

 obtuse : pales leathery, densely woolly, incurved, gibbous at back, 



