Achillea.] COMPOSITE. 213 



linear-acute segments very close-placed. Heads many, J in. diam., corym- 

 bose, ovoid ; peduncle short, stout, ebracteate ; invol. bracts oblong, obtuse, 

 rigid, brown-edged. Ray-Jl. many, white pink or purple ; ligule orbicular, 

 shorter than the involucre, reliexed ; disk-Jl. white or yellowish. Fruit 

 glabrous, shining. — Distrib. Europe (Arctic), N and W. Asia, Himalaya, 

 N. America. — A reputed astringent. 



14. DIO'TIS, Desf. Cotton-weed. 



An erect, perennial kerb, densely clothed with felted white grey or buff 

 wool. Leaves alternate, oblong. Heads subglobose, discoid, yellow ; 

 involucre campanulate, bracts oblong ; receptacle flatfish, scaly. Flowers 

 all tubular and 2-sexual, much compressed, 5-toothed, corky, with 2 wings 

 produced downwards over the ovary as persistent spurs ; anther-cells not 

 tailed. Fruit angular, crowned by the corolla-base ; pappus 0. — Etym. 

 Sis and ovs, from the ear-like corolla-lobes. 



D. marit'ircia, Cass. ; stems very many, leaves sessile obtuse. 

 Sandy shores, E. Suffolk, Essex, Kent to Cornwall, Anglesea (extinct in most); 

 Kerry, Wexford, "Waterford ; Channel Islands ; fl. Aug.-Sept. — Eootstock 

 creeping, woody. Stems 6-12 in., stout, ascending, branched above. Leaves 

 % in., entire or toothed. Heads § in. diam., in small dense terminal corymbs ; 

 scales of receptacle oblong, acutniuate, tips woolly. Fruit curved, smooth, 

 glabrous, 5-ribbed.— Distrib. Shores of the Mediterranean, Canaries. 



15. MATRICARIA, L. 



Annual, rarely perennial, branched herbs. Leaves alternate, much 

 divided ; lobes narrow. Heads yellow, ray white or ; invol. bracts in 

 few series, nearly equal ; receptacle broad, flat or conical, elongate after 

 flowering, naked. Bay-fi. 1 -seriate, ligulate, female, or 0. DisTc-fi. 

 tubular, 2-sexual, 4-5-toothed ; anther-cells not tailed. Fruit ribbed or 

 angled on the ventral face, not winged ; disk large ; pappus 0.— Distrib. 

 Europe, N. and S. Africa, W. Asia ; species about 70.— Etym. Formerly 

 used in uterine affections. 



1. M. Chamomil'la, L. ; aromatic, leaves 2 -pinnatifid, segments very 

 narrow, invol. bracts without dark edges, fruit 5-ribbed ventrally only. 



Wild Chamomile. 



Cultivated ground, from Cumberland southd. ; sporadic in Scotlaud and Ire- 

 land ; Channel Islands ; fl. June-Aug— Habit and appearance of glabrous 

 forms of An'themis arven'sis and of the following, with the scent, &c, of A. 

 nobilis, but fainter. Stem much branched. Heads §-f in. diam., corym- 

 bose, ligules reflexed after flowering or 0. Fruit small, grey ; ribs slender, 

 white ; disk oblique.— Distuib. Europe, N. and W. Asia to N.W. India. - 

 A tonic. 



2. M. inodo'ra, L. ; inodorous, leaves 2-pinnatifi.d, segments very 

 narrow, invol. bracts edged with brown, fruit with 3 thick ribs on the 

 ventral face and 2 pits on the dorsal above. Pyrethrum, Gaertn. 



