PINK WILD FLOWERS 
as the faintly fragrant flowers. Joe Pye is found 
from Canada to Florida and Texas. 
BURDOCK. COCKLE BUR. BEGGAR’S BUTTON. 
CUCKOO BUTTON 
Arctium minus. Thistle Family. 
Children delight to gather the shaggy green burs 
of the Beggar’s. Button and form them into birds’ 
nests, baskets, dolls, and a various assortment of 
similar playthings. They well know, too, the bitter 
taste they leave on the fingers. The Burdock is a 
large, coarse, bushy, branching biennial, growing 
from two to four feet high. The large, rough stalk is 
very leafy, and is round and grooved. The tooth- 
less, hollow-stemmed leaves are large, broad, and 
alternating. They are pointed-oval in shape, more 
or less wavy, and rather thin and veiny. The lower 
ones are heart-shaped. The small flower head is 
composed of numerous silky, tubular florets of vary- 
ing shades of purple, gathered into soft tufts and set 
in a rather large, conical green bur, which is thickly 
covered with many sharp, spreading, long-hooked, 
and sticky bristles. They are set on short stems in 
irregular terminal, bunchy clusters. ‘The root and fresh 
leaves are employed as a remedy in blood and skin 
disorders, and also for swellings and rheumatism. 
In Japan the root is known as Gobo, and is a popular 
vegetable in the country. Burdock is a familiar 
plant commonly found around neglected buildings, 
and along fence rows, roadways, and in pastures 
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