458 PLANTS AND MAN 



of which the greater number of species occur in the central and 

 western states. Small leaves immediately beneath the flowers are 

 tipped with red or yellow. The eastern painted cup, a plant of 

 moist meadows, has yellowish green flowers, while the western 

 species has showy red flowers. Owl's clover is a Pacific coast 

 species in which the upper leaves, like those of Indian paint- 

 brush, are colored; each flower is yellow or purple, with purple 

 spots on the inflated lower lip. Wood betony is an eastern species 

 with basal clusters of pinnately lobed fern-like leaves; the small 

 yellowish brown flowers are grouped in compact heads, each 

 corolla having an arched upper lip and a three-lobed lower one. 

 Two very common members of the figwort family are Eura- 

 sian species which have become firmly established along road- 

 sides and in waste places. Mullein is a tall plant with basal woolly 

 leaves and tall fiowering stalks bearing clusters of white or cream- 

 colored flowers. BuTTER-AND-EGGS, also known as toadflax, 

 produces its flowers in smaller elongated clusters; the upper lip of 

 the corolla is yellow and erect, and the lower lip, also yellow, 

 possesses an orange colored fold which closes the throat of the 

 flower. 



The Thistle Family 



It has already been pointed out that the culmination of 

 evolution among Dicot flowers is the small sympetalous flower, 

 aggregates of which form a compact head; this condition is 

 typical of the families commonly known as Composites. In the 

 flower of a typical Composite the calyx is an inconspicuous scaly 

 or bristly portion of the flower. The tubular corolla is of two 

 kinds; one type with no projections from its margin, is known as 

 a disc flower, and since it produces stamens and pistils, is usually 

 fertile. Another type, known as a ray flower, is characterized by a 

 flattened or strap-shaped projection of the corolla rim, which 

 resembles the petal of a simple flower. In many Composites 

 (see fig. 44) the ray flowers are arranged around the outer edge of 

 the flower head, and function only for attracting insects, since 

 they lack stamens or pistils. The Composites are the most suc- 

 cessful of all Dicot families from the viewpoint of their reproduc- 

 tive adaptations; the number of species in this group has been 



