37 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS. 



number of segments ; these are very slender and crowded, and 

 are again cut up ; so that the general aspect of the leaf is ex- 

 ceedingly light and feathery. This is especially the case with 

 the leaves (radical) that spring directly from the creeping root ; 

 those given off by the flowering stem become more simple as 

 they near the summit. Unlike as the flowers may at first sight 

 appear to those of the Daisy and Dandelion, those of the % 

 Yarrow are also composites. The yellowish disc-florets are 

 tubular, and contain both anthers and stigmas ; the white or pink 

 ray-florets are pistillate only. It abounds on all commons, 

 pastures and wastes, flowering from June till the end of the 

 year. There is one other British species, 



The Sneezewort (A. ptarmicd), which is almost as widely dis- 

 tributed. Its flower-heads are much fewer than in Yarrow, and 

 its leaves are more simple in character, the edges being merely 

 cut into teeth. The disc-florets are more green than yellow. It 

 is about a month later than Yarrow in coming into flower, but 

 thereafter the two species keep time together. The name 

 A chillea was given to the genus in honour of Achilles, who is 

 reputed to have used Yarrow for the purpose of staunching his 

 wounds. 



Groundsel (Semdo vutgaris). 



We have selected this very vulgar plant as a familiar example 

 of a genus that contains some very striking species. They all 

 produce composite flowers, but in this common weed the ray- 

 florets are usually wanting, and consequently the few cylindric 

 flower-heads have a very singular appearance. The leaves are 

 deeply cut, the lobes irregularly toothed. The flowers are suc- 

 ceeded by the well-known fluffy pappus attached to the seeds, 

 which has enabled the plant to become one of the most widely 

 distributed in all temperate and cold climates. It is to this 

 hoary head of seed-bearers that the genus is indebted for its 



