WILD FLOWERS YELLOW AND ORANGE 
bud opens, the numerous deep yellow florets, which are 
rolled lengthwise into tiny, hollow tubes gradually 
unfold, and become strap-shaped, with their square 
tips finely toothed. The outer ones open first and 
curve gracefully backward, until finally, the beau- 
tiful flower head assumes, when at its best, the shape 
of a flat, round and nearly semi-circular golden tuft 
of overlapping parts. They are held in a cup of many 
nattow, dark green, leafy bracts, and set singly on the 
tip of the long, tube-like stem. They open widest in 
the bright sun, and partly close at night. The plant 
contains a bitterish, milky juice that exudes freely 
when any part is broken, and which stains the hands. 
As the flowers fade, they are succeeded by a round, 
gray ball of light, feathery plumes, to which are attached 
the tiny seeds. The Dandelion is found in blossom 
the year round. While I am writing this description 
to-day, the third of January, in the vicinity of New 
York, my notes are supplemented with a freshly opened 
blossom, which I have just picked from the lawn of our 
suburban home. Dandelion is an obscure name, but 
is generally believed to be a corruption of the French 
dent-de-lion, meaning lion’s tooth, and refers to the 
outline of the leaf which is said to resemble that of the 
teeth in a lion’s jaw. 
COMMON SOW THISTLE. HARE’S LETTUCE. 
MILK THISTLE 
Sénchus oleraceus. Chicory Family. 
A tall and usually single-stalked annual, naturalized 
from Europe, and growing from one to ten feet high; 
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