520 



THE THISTLE FAMILY. 



The green-headed cone-flower is closely related to Rudbeckia hirta, our 

 friendly black-eyed Susan, which seems to be generally known and the one 

 with which we compare all others. Our present species is a rather smooth 

 plant of swamps and moist thickets, where sometimes its lower leaves grow 

 to be quite a foot long, and its large cone-like centres appear most effective. 



The very hairy stem of black-eyed Susan is the feature that makes it so 

 objectionable to farmers, as on its account horses refuse to eat of hay 

 through which it is plentiful. The daisy they regard as " bad enough," for 

 it impoverishes the soil ; but even so, it is not as seriously dreaded as black- 

 eyed Susan. 



7?. triloba, thin-leaved cone-flower, shows no such gorgeous blossoms as 

 those of its preceding relative. Its bloom is rather small and is produced at 

 the ends of slender, purple branchlets. The disk flowers on the rounded 

 receptacle are also deep purple. Lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, are the 

 upper leaves, while the lower and basal ones are thrice-parted and lobed. 

 In texture they are thin and on both surfaces quite rough. The chaff of 

 the receptacle is sharply awned. 



R. heliopsidis, occurring through the pine and oak woods of Georgia and 

 Alabama, is distinctive in its oval or large ovate leaves, the lower ones 

 having long petioles. Often they are abundantly covered with black dots 

 and brightly tinted with purple. The chaff is very blunt and quite pubescent 

 at the tip. 



RED SUNFLOWER, PURPLE CONE=FLOWER, 

 BLACK SAMPSON. 



Braiineria pier pin' ea. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Thistle. Purplish crimson. Scentless. Loiiisiana and Alabama to June-October. 



Virginia and Kentucky. 



Floioer-heads : very large ; showy ; terminal ; solitary and composed of both 

 ray and disk flowers. Invohici-e : with lanceolate bracts, imbricated in from two 

 to four series. Ray flozvers : slender ; spreading or drooping. Disk flower's : with 

 cylindrical corollas, five-toothed at their summits. Leaves : alternate, or opposite, 

 with long, slender petioles, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, pointed or long pointed at 

 the apex, and rounded or tapering at the base ; serrate or dentate ; thin ; rough 

 on both sides. Sle7H : erect, two to five feet high ; leafy ; smooth. 



More gorgeous than any Rudbeckia and infinitely more charming are 

 these great, heavy heads of crimson blossoms, which we might fancy almost 

 could be seen without unclosing the eyes, when their turn has come to glow 

 through rich soil and lowlands. Five, possibly six, species are recognised by 

 some botanists in this country ; and although we associate them mostly with 



