32 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



Appendages black, very densely imbricated, with the cilia much 

 longer than the undivided portion, dark brown. 



Var. /3, decipiens. Bab. 



Plate DCCVII. 



Bah. Man. Brit. Bot. ed. v. p. 188. 



C. decipiens, Tliuill. Fl. Par. p. 445 (?). 



C. nigrescens, C. pratensis (?), C. microptilon, et C. Debeauxii, Gr. &■ Godr. Fl. de Fr. 



Vol. II. pp. 241 to 243. 

 C. nigrescens Willd. (?). Hook, k Am. Brit. Fl. ed. viii. p. 240. 



Branches slender, generally elongated, only slightly thickened 

 beneath the anthodes, which are often radiant. Appendages 

 brown, somewhat spreading, the lower ones small, not concealing 

 the phyllaries ; the cilia somewhat shorter than in var. a, brown 

 or pale-brown. 



In pastures, borders of fields, roadsides, &c. Very common, and 

 generally distributed. Yar. a very common in the North ; var. 3 

 apparently confined to the South of England, where it is abun- 

 dant. I have seen it from Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hants, Dorset, 

 Devon, Gloucester, Wilts, Somerset, and Cambridge and Berks. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Autumn. 



Stem 6 inches to 3 feet high, generally slightly branched in 

 the upper part. Leaves very variable, both in breadth and degrees 

 of division, the upper ones narrower and generally entire. 

 Anthodes \ to \ inch or more across. Achenes whitish-grey, 

 rather shiny, with a few short hairs and generally no pappus. 

 Plant dull-green, rather rough with small hairs. 



Var. 3 is a more elegant plant, with the pericline generally 

 smaller and less globular, and the branches more Aviry than in 

 var. a. It is not impossibly a distinct sub-species ; but I have 

 failed to discover any actual line of demarcation bctAvoen it and 

 var. a, and often feel at a loss to decide to which of the two forms 

 some specimens ought to be referred : no dependence can be placed 

 on the presence or absence of pappus. 



The radiant form of var. a appears to be scarce ; it is, however, 

 not uncommon about Aberdeen. Another form has all the florets 

 elongated, or several rows of them elongated, but is destitute of 

 the elongated trumpet-shaped ray which is commonly present in 

 var. 3. Var. a bears much the same relation to var. 3 as the C. Jacea 

 does to the C. serotina of Continental authors mentioned under the 

 preceding species. 



Black Knapioeed. 



Frencb, Centaurie Noire. German, ScUwarze Flockenhlume. 



