WILD FLOWERS WHITE AND GREENISH 



of the smallest of the Daisy-like flowers, having a light, 

 greenish yellow centre with a finely fringed wreath of 

 from forty to seventy fine white or often purple-tinged 

 ray flowers. It is easily confused with others of its 

 kind, owing to its similarity. The name Fleabane 

 was applied to this plant because there was a popular 

 belief among country people that the flowers possessed 

 some objectionable features that caused undesirable 

 insects to give it a wide berth. Accordingly the flowers 

 were gathered and hung over the windows and doors, 

 or they were dried and coarsely powdered and scattered 

 about infected places in the house. Sometimes when 

 the insects became too persistent, a few of the dried 

 flowers were burned in the rooms so that the smoke 

 would drive them away. The erect, light green stalk 

 is long, slender, grooved, hollow, hairy and leafy. It 

 grows from one to four feet high and branches at the 

 top where several flowers are borne on each terminal. 

 The thin textured, light green leaves are soft and 

 velvety to the touch, and their strong midribs show 

 prominently. They are generally lance-shaped, tapering 

 toward the point and narrowing into a long stem at the 

 base. The margin is coarsely notched into sharp teeth. 

 The leaves graduate in size from the foot of the stalk, 

 becoming very small and narrow, with the toothed 

 margins disappearing entirely as they approach the top 

 where they seem to set directly upon the stalk. Their 

 arrangement is alternate. The flowers have a little 

 odour and at night the ray flowers close upward, enfold- 

 ing the centre, They are found almost everywhere 



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