1040 



THE NATURE BOOK 



SPEAR PLUME THISTLE. 



much larger than those of the Creep- 

 ing Thistle ; the heads will measure 

 an inch across. They are clearly 

 loved by the humble-bees, which 

 work early and late extracting 

 sweetness from the nectared florets ; 

 sometimes indeed they fall asleep 

 on the flower-head, and thus one 

 finds them, drenched with dew, 

 in the early morning, quite unable 

 to fly until the sun has dried the 

 moisture off them. 



The name " Plume " Thistle is 

 given because the hairs which 

 compose the thistle-down are fea- 

 thered, or plumed, whereas in 

 the true thistles they are simple 

 hairs. 



Long before the majority of 

 plants show any signs of life, this 

 thistle may be seen spreading its 

 leaves in green rosettes ; and in 

 late summer, crowned with a wealth 

 of bloom, it forms one of the most 

 striking objects of plant life. 



Benjamin Hanley. 



and so prevent the thistle-down 

 flying far and wide, this species 

 spreads underground, and the more 

 one cuts it down the more fresh 

 shoots appear in new places. 



Tliis habit, which has earned for 

 the plant its name, may be best 

 noticed in the early part of the 

 year, when the plants are only a 

 few inches above the soil, for then 

 patches many yards in area will 

 be seen studded with young plants, 

 and it is easy to tell that they 

 have all sprung from one root. 

 The male and female flowers are 

 borne on separate plants. The 

 former are rounded and the latter 

 long and narrow. Another thistle 

 almost as common as the last is the 

 Spear Plume (Cnicus lanceolatus), but 

 this is a much finer plant. It has 

 received the first part of its name 

 from the prickles on its leaves having 

 developed into long, sharp spines, 

 and if one stumbles upon a plant 

 unawares no doubt the name will 

 be thought appropiiate. The flowers 

 of tliis thistle, purple in hue, are 



CKEEPING THISTLE. 



