Midsummer 



cone-shaped receptacle, hence the com- 

 mon name of " cone-flower." In botan- 

 ical parlance, these are called " disk flow- 

 ers." They possess both stamens and 

 pistils, while the yellow rays, which com- 

 monly are regarded as petals, are in 

 reality flowers which are without either 

 of these important organs ; only assisting 

 in the perpetuation of the species by ar- 

 resting the attention of passing insects 

 and thus securing an exchange of pollen 

 among the perfect disk-flowers. 



In the common daisy the arrangement 

 is different. Here the white rays are even 

 more useful than ornamental, as they are 

 the female flowers of the head, eventually 

 producing seed ; while the yellow disk- 

 flowers of the centre yield the pollen. 

 The dandelion is without any tubular 

 blossoms. Its florets are botanically de- 

 scribed as "strap-shaped," resembling 

 the ray-flowers of the daisy and black- 

 eyed Susan. In the common thistle, 



73 



