Some Humbugs of Science 12 1 



wind the naked fruits, with the pappus dis- 

 played in an open globular head." 



Few people quarrel with the foregoing 

 facts, because few people know, from those 

 statements, what the facts are. The defi- 

 nition can be read only in the light of a 

 special education, and without that, or a 

 dictionary, is unintelligible. Is there any 

 gain from treating the gladsome and hum- 

 ble dandelion as if it were one of the her- 

 metic mysteries? Let us see if it could 

 not be as easily described in common 

 speech, with, perhaps, some facts as well 

 worth printing as those about the achenes 

 and reflexed involucres : 



Common dandelion. Taraxacum offi- 

 cinale. Named from the French dent de 

 lion, meaning lion's tooth. The notches 

 on its leaves faintly suggest lion's teeth. 

 Greek derivation, taraxis, in allusion to its 

 disquieting medicinal power. This mem- 

 ber of the composite family is of European 

 origin, but is now domesticated throughout 

 the north temperate zone, and is often seen 

 in the Arctic regions. It has not gained a 

 foothold in the southern hemisphere. The 



