THE CHICORY FAMILY. ^,^3 



H. Grondvz'i, hairy hawkweed, as its English name implies is « 

 about the lower stem with whitish hairs which also arc scattered over ihc 

 leaves. Often the upper part of its stem is quite lealless. 



GALL=OF=THE=EARTH. LIONS-FOOT. 



Ndbalus scrpoitarius. 



Flcnvers : drooping from the ends of pubescent peduncles .inri frrowing in 

 axillary and terminal panicles. //i7'o/iic n' : cyUm\ricii\ ; green or tinted with 

 j)urple, and covered with white hairs. /\ays : squared at the summit and tooilictl. 

 S/j/es : long-branched. Leaves : alternate, oblong, very variable ; pinnaiely .ind 

 irregularly three- to seven-lobed or pinnatifid and tapering at the base into 

 margined petioles; sparingly pubescent or nearly smooth on both surfaces. Stem : 

 one to four feet high ; smooth, or occasionally slightly })ui)cscent. 



Tall, weedy-looking plants are these, and, although we notice their bell- 

 shaped and drooping flower-heads, they are quite without the charm of 

 colour. It is well to know them, however, for often quite unsought they 

 confront us, especially in the late season when little else is in bloom. The 

 original Indian name from which the generic appellation was taken meant 

 rattlesnake-root, as these plants are among those credited with a mastery 

 over the serpent referred to. Our present species, in fact, not infrequently 

 passes under the name of snake gentian. All of the species herein included, 

 with the exception of Nabalus virgatus, are to be found in the moist soil and 

 thickets of high mountains. 



N. virgatus, slender rattlesnake-root, shows, on the contrary, flowers of a 

 charming deep pink or of white, their involucral bracts being purplish. The 

 clustered heads grow in a very narrow and wand-like thyrsus, while il)e 

 leaves are sinuate, pinnately parted, or lanceolate and entire. It is one 

 exclusively of the coast region, occurring from Florida to New Jersey. 

 Along the St. John's River w^here stories of snakes are now more abundant 

 than alligators, I was told of many magical cures of snakes' bites brought 

 about through the efficacy of this plant. 



A", dlbiis, wild lettuce, or gall-of-the-earth, has also the principal bracts of 

 its involucre of pale purple, while the strap-shape limb of its flowers is 

 greenish or cream-colour and the pappus of cinnamon-brown. Tiie leaves 

 are angularly from three- to five-lobed varying, however, greatly in outline, as 

 the upper ones are usually entire. Purplish and glaucous often appears the 

 stem which grows at most five feet high. The plant is also one strongly 

 believed to be a rattlesnake-master. 



N. altisshnus, tall white lettuce, with its slender green involucral bracts 

 and straw-coloured pappus, appears, in fruit especially, v<rv .litTcrc p.: fr.-Mi its 



