Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species 0/ Arctium. 373 



the others, subci/lindrical upper part of jlorets more than half 

 as long as the lower part. 



A. majus, Schkuhr, Handh. iii. 49; Fries, Nov. 261; TJ'anm. et 



Grab. Ft. Si/e.^. iii. 10.") ; Bafj. Mem. ed. 2. 182, ed. 3. 179. 

 A. Lappa, JJlth/. Sp. PI. iii. l(j;il ; Bah. in Ann. Nat. Hist. Ser. 1. 



iv. 2.3-1 ; Man. ed. 1. 171. 

 Lappa major, DeCand. Prod. vi. G(J1 ; Koch, S>/n. AG'S; Gren. et 



Gudr. ii. 280. 

 L. orticinalis. All. Fl. Fed. i. 14.5 ; Reichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. xv. 54. 



t. 812. 

 L. major Arcium Dioscoridis, Itaii Syn. ed. .3. 19". 2. 

 L. major capitulo glabro maximo. Dill, in Rati Syn. ed. 3. 190. 1. 

 Burdock, Pet. Engl. PI. t. 23. 1. 



Stem and petioles finely mealy and rather floccose. Stem 

 3-4 feet high. Leaves cordate-ovate; lowermost veiy large. 

 Central stem and usually most of the branches ending in irre- 

 gular corymbs of heads ; but sometimes many of the branches 

 have fewer heads and a racemose arrangement of them. Pedun- 

 cles very long, but occasionally a few of the lower heads are only 

 shortly stalked. Heads very large, quite glabrous or with a 

 very little cobweb-like hair in their youngest state ; after the 

 florets have fallen, which they seem to do at an early stage of 

 the growth of the fruit, the head is quite flat and open at the 

 top, often an inch across, and the involucre is almost exactly 

 hemispherical with the outer phyllaries deflexed, the middle ones 

 patent and the inner ones nearly erect. Phyllaries usually all 

 green and subulate ; their hooked points yellowish ; inner row 

 paler, less gradually subulate than the others but narrowing 

 upwards until near to the point where it narrows quickly, 

 scarcely converging over the fruit : the heads therefore do not 

 appear to be constricted near the top as is the case in the other 

 species. Florets very nearly cylindrical in their enlarged part, 

 rather widening than contracting above the sudden enlargement, 

 deciduous. Fruit yellowish, irregularly rugose. 



This is usually not nearly so large a plant as A. tomentosum, 

 although it often attains a very considerable size. It is conspi- 

 cuous on account of its long branches and large heads, which 

 latter much exceed in magnitude those of either of the other 

 species. 



The very long peduncles and corymbose heads distinguish it 

 and the preceding from the three other species, but in estimating 

 these characters attention should be paid to the heads forming 

 the termination of the upright central stem of the plant ; it has 

 been already remarked that the branches do not always present 

 the same arrangement of the heads. Difficidties may occur 



