38 



WILD FLOWERS 



from which spring the hollow flower-stalks, each with its 



single, large, bright yellow head : as conspicuous as the flower- 

 head is the fruiting-head, which suc- 

 ceeds it : each little seed-like fruit is pro- 

 vided with an umbrella-like pappus, 

 and the whole head the material of a 

 familiar game in every country is a 

 dainty ball of plumes. 



64. SowtMstle, Sonchus oleraceus, 

 Daisy family. A tall, coarse plant, with 

 a thick, somewhat branched stem : little 

 bunches of the large, bright yellow 

 flower-heads are borne about the tips 

 of the branches : the leaves and stem 

 have a strikingly glossy, dark-green 

 appearance : the upper leaves are arrow- 

 shaped, sharply toothed, and clasp the 



stem : the lower leaves may be lobed : flowers in summer, being 



abundant on waste ground. 

 65. Goafs-beard, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, Tragopogon pra- 



tense, Daisy family. The leaves are long, narrow, and sharply 



63. Dandelion, 



64. Sowthistle. 



65. Goafs-beard, 

 J ack-go-to-bed-at-Ncon. 



pointed : the stem is about 18 ins. high, and is branched : at the 

 tips of the branches are borne the large, yellow flower-heads, 

 which only open in the early morning, closing about eleven 

 o'clock : the pappus (see Hypochceris) is very conspicuous, and is 

 borne on. the end of a long beak : common in pastures, 

 flowering in June. 



