66 



POPULAR SCIEITCE ITEWS. 



[Mat, 1888. 



cum, the geueric name being derived from the 

 Greek leon, lion, and odons, tooth, and the specific 

 from the Greek tarasso, to stir up, in reference to 

 the effect of a dose. In later works we find the 

 genus Leontodon, including the "fall dandelion" 

 (L. aulumnale), but not the true dandelion, which 

 now appears in a genus by itself under the name 

 Taraxicum Dens-leonis. Here the specific name is 

 merely " lion's tooth " again, in l^atin. Finally 

 in the latest works our plant is given as Taraxicum 

 officinale, since this has been found to 

 be the name which, according to the 

 rules of botanical nomenclature, takes 

 precedence of all others. An allusion 

 to the teeth is thus no longer re- 

 tained, the only reference remaining 

 being to the plant's officinal use. 



To the majority of people the men- 

 tion of the dandelion calls to miud 

 not so much its medicinal properties 

 as its use for food. Although its 

 cultivation, either as a spring potherb 

 or as a salad with blanched leaves, 

 is comparatively modern, the wild 

 plant seems to have been long valued 

 as a vegetable. There is reason to 

 ^"^' ^" believe that the Romans made use of 

 it as a potherb, and Chinese writers of the four- 

 teenth century mention its being eaten in their 

 country, although there is no evidence of cultiva- 

 tion at that time. 



There are but few of our flowering plants that 

 grow so widespread over the world. It occurs in 

 North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific 

 coast, in Europe, in Asia, and in the arctic regions. 

 This extensive range may in part be accounted 

 for by the fact that our plant belongs to the large 

 and aggressive family of the Composite, and is thus 

 related to such invaders as daisies, burdocks, and 

 thistles. Still, the dandelion has more to recom- 

 mend it than mere family connection: for, despite 

 its lowly aspect, it is no poor relation ; but, as we 

 shall hope to show in the present article, it has 

 many virtues of its own which entitle it to respect. 

 Prominent among these is its adaptability to 

 the different conditions under which it grows. It 

 seems to make the best of every thing. If by 

 chance a seed falls upon poor, thin soil, the young 

 plant sends forth, as rapidly as possible, a rosette 

 of leaves pressed close to the earth ; and thus, on the 

 principle that "possession is nine points of the 

 law," it secures for its roots the use of a certain 

 amount of territory quite safe from the encroach- 

 ments of other plants. In rich ground the case is 

 quite different, for here there is so much nutriment 

 in a small quantity of earth, that the struggle for 

 soil is not such a life-and-death matter as in the 

 less favored localities. Consequently we find a 

 large number of plants crowded together as close 

 as they can stand; and it is obvious that if, under 

 these circumstances, the dandelion should develop 

 a flat rosette of leaves, the grass and other plants 

 growing around would soon overshadow it, and it 

 would have small chance for life. Our plant 

 therefore extends its leaves upwards, and does its 

 best to elongate them so as to keep pace with the 

 growth of its rivals. But as these are for the most 

 part grasses and plants which grow by elongation 

 of the stem, the race for sunshine is rather in favor 

 of these other plants, for the reason that a given 

 amount of material put into a stem makes a 

 stiffer organ than when put into a leaf. Still, even 

 with these odds against it, the dandelion seems 

 well able to hold its own ; for it probably derives 

 more or less advantage from the recurved lobes, or 

 teeth, which give the plant its name. These are 

 admirably fitted to act in much the same manner 

 as a ratchet; and when the neighboring grasses are 



blown against the dandelion, a blade may slide 

 along the margin of the leaf toward the base; but, 

 as it springs back from its own elasticity, it cannot 

 slide in the opposite direction, for a tooth will 

 catch it, and thus force it to help support the leaf, 

 and hold it up to the sunshine. We need not stop 

 to consider how the dandelion behaves in soil which 

 is neither very rich nor very poor, for enough has 

 been said to show that it has not much to fear from 

 any rivals it may meet under ordinary circum- 

 stances. 



It is not only against the aggressions of neigh- 

 boring plants, however, that our dandelion needs 

 to be prepared: it is at least equally important for 

 its welfare that it have some means of protection 

 against herbivorous animals — not only such as 

 might eat its leaves, but also the more stealthy 

 ones that live upon the food which plants store 

 underground. All such foes it thwarts by a means 

 as simple as it is efficient. Every part of the plant 

 contains a milky juice which is intensely bitter, 

 and a first taste is quite enough to convince the 

 most stupid animal that raw dandelion is not good 

 eating, and most animals know enough to let it 

 severely alone. Curiously enough, however, in 

 this, as in many other cases, it happens that what 

 in nature acts to deter animals from eating the 

 plant, with man offers the chief attraction, for it 

 is this very bitter principle (laraxacin) which 



Fig. 2. 



gives to dandelion greens their peculiar flavor, and 

 affords the essential element in the extract which 

 physicians prescribe. 



The store of food, referred to above, which the 

 dandelion accumulates in its root, not infrequently 

 enables it to pass, almost unharmed, through 

 dangers that with less provident plants would 

 surely prove fatal. For example, it must often 

 happen that from drought or from being trampled 

 upon by animals, the leaves become wholly or 

 in part destroyed. Now, if there were no reserve 

 store of food, the plant would have no chance of 

 rallying; but as it is, this food supplies the mate- 

 rial for new growth, and upon the return of favor- 

 able conditions, fresh leaves are developed, and the 

 plant lives on as before. Primarily, of course, 

 the purpose of this storage of food is to enable the 

 plant to live on from year to year, resting in the 

 winter, and in the spring beginning work again 

 with a good start. 



In comparing the higher with the lower plants, 

 the superiority of the former is most beautifully 

 shown in the better provision which is made for 

 the welfare of offspring; and in this regard our 

 dandelion stands among the highest. Before we 

 can understand the ways in which our little plant 

 performs this part of its life-work, we must briefly 

 consider the structure of the blossom. 



If with a sharp knife we cut a blossom in halves, 

 from the stem upwards, the parts represented in 

 Fig. 2 will be disclosed. Surmounting the stalk 

 is a cushion-like receptacle (K), from the top of 

 which arise a number of tiny flowers {F) ; while 

 from the side grow out a series of green scales (S), 

 forming an involucre around the whole. A single 



one of these florets (Fig. 3) exhibits the following 

 parts: first, a bright-yellow corolla (CO), tubular 

 below, but strap-shaped above, as if a tube had 

 been split for part of the way on one side, and 

 the upper part flattened ; second, five stamens 

 (i'A'), attached by slender filaments {FM) to the 

 tubular part of the corolla, and with their anthers 

 or pollen-sacs (.4A') joined together by the edges 

 to form a tube; third, a single pistil having a long 

 style {SY), which, above, passes 

 through the anther -tube, and '■ .._ ,/ " 



bears at its end two diverging 

 stigmas {SG), and below con- 

 nects by a short neck (A') with 

 the small ovary (0), which con- 

 tains a solitary ovule; fourth, a 

 calyx (CA') composed of numer- 

 ous slender bristles. 



The purpose of these complex 

 structures is, of course, in one 

 way or another to secure the de- 

 velopment of the ovule into a seed 

 fitted to produce a new plant. 

 This development will proceed 

 only after the ovule has been in- 

 fluenced (i.e., fertilized), by pollen '"'"" ^' 

 placed upon the stigma; but when once the mys- 

 terious process of fertilization has taken place, 

 then there follows immediately those wonderful 

 changes in the blossom which culminate in the 

 ripening of the fruit. 



There are but two possible ways in which fer- 

 tilization may be secured : either the pollen which 

 affects the ovule must come from the same flower 

 (then called close-fertilization), or the pollen must 

 come from another flower of the same kind (cross- 

 fertilization). Now, while either of these methods 

 will insure the production of a seed, numerous ex- 

 periments go to show that those offspring which 

 result from cross-fertilization are in many ways 

 superior to those which are produced from close- 

 fertilization ; and it is to the advantages of cross- 

 fertilization that we have to look for an explanation 

 of the significance of many peculiar structures, not 

 only of the dandelion, but of flowers in general. 



It is obvious, that, to secure cross-fertilization, 

 there must be some agent to transfer the pollen 

 from one plant to another. Most commonly, either 

 the wind is taken advantage of for this purpose, as 

 with elms, jiines, grasses, etc., or else flying insects 

 are induced to perform the office, -as is the ca.se 

 with the majority of our familiar flowers. The 

 wind is a very wasteful carrier, so that for every 

 grain that is properly placed, thousands, or even 

 millions, may be lost. Insects, on the contrary, 

 waste but little; and, moreover, as Aristotle so 

 shrewdly observed, they habitually confine their 

 visits, for a number of trips, exclusively to the 

 flowers of one species. 



The dandelion seems to fully appreciate the 

 great advantages of securing the services of in- 

 sects, for it appeals most sti-ongly to their love of 

 bright colors and their passion for sweets. As the 

 flowers open, each tiny golden cup is filled to the 

 brim with purest nectar; and he must be a very 

 dull insect, indeed, that cannot see the brilliant head 

 of flowers as far as he can see any thing. At any 

 rate, it is not the dandelion's fault if he does 

 not, for the blossom is placed where it will be as 

 conspicuous as possible. If the surrounding herb- 

 age is tall, the flower-stalk is elongated, so that 

 the crown of flowers may not be obscured. If the 

 plants around are low-lying, it would be wasteful 

 to have a long stalk, so it has a short one, — some- 

 times so short that the blossom looks like a button 

 in the centre of the leaf rosette. Economy of 

 material is furthermore shown in the fact that the 

 stalk is always hollow, — for it is a principle well 



