COMPOSITE r'AMILV 



were, R penthouse over the 

 Everlastinir Flowers ; hence 



species, readily distinguished from every other British Thistle bv 

 the long inner bracts of the involucre, whieh are straw-coloured 

 and glossy, and spread in a radiate manner so as to resemble 

 petals. In dry weather they lie fiat, but when the atmosphere 

 is moist, they rise and form, as it 

 florets. Their texture is like that of 

 they scarcely alter tlieir 

 appearance when dead, 

 and, as the whole plant ia 

 remarkably durable, they 

 often retain their form and 

 position till the succeeding 

 spring. On the Continent 

 the large white flower-head 

 of one species, C. acaiilis, 

 is often nailed upon cottage 

 doors by wa\' of a hygro- 

 meter, as it closes before 

 rain. — Dry heaths. — 11. 

 June — October. Biennial. 



2S. Arctium (Burdocks 

 — Stout, erect, branching 

 7)lants, with very large, 

 stalked, cordate leaves ; a 

 globose involucre of long, 

 stiff, spreading, spinous, 

 hooked bracts; flat, scaly 

 receptacle; fiorets s.\\ tubular 

 and perfect ; anthers tailed ; 

 pappus in se\'eral rows of 

 short, simple hairs. (Xame 

 from the Greek arktos, a 

 bear, from the rough burs.) 



I. A. Ldppa (Great Bur- 

 dock). — .\ large and stout 

 herbaceous plant, remark- 

 able for the picturesque character of its large, wavy leaves, which 

 are often introduced by artists into the foreground of their land- 

 scapes. The petioles are solid ; the flcneer-heads long-stalked, in 

 a loose corymb, hemispherical, very large : involucre glabrous and 

 green, or sometimes interwoven with a white, cottony substance : 

 florets purplish-red. Waste places ; not uncommon. The hooked 

 spines of the in\'olucre attach the heads when in fruit to the coats 



T J 



VI.-S (Z,- 



■ i:ii>W,\i-). 



