68 BRITISH HIEEACIA. 



Banks and margins of woods : not uncommon. Teesdale. Near 

 Thirsk. Langwith, &o. near York. Cheshire. Dorking and 

 Ockham, Surrey. Walls at Pet-worth, Sussex. Tunbridge Wells, 

 Kent. 



Plowers in 8th and 9th months. 



Plant 2 ,to 5 feet high with numerous small or medium sized 

 heads. Stem erect and rigid, or rather flexuose, usually hollow 

 and easily compressed, hairy in the lower part, glabrous above, 

 with numerous leaves (10 to 20) gradually diminishing in size 

 from the middle of the stem upwards, and frequently reduced to 

 leaf-like bracts, or altogether absent at the base of the peduncles ; 

 corymbose, sub-racemose, or panicled, with filiform elongated 

 branches and peduncles. Leaves green, paler beneath, falsely 

 3 veined,* sub-glabrous above, rather hairy beneath especially on 

 the midrib which is villous at its junction with the stem ; dentate 

 towards the middle with 3 or 4 usually large distinct sharp teeth 

 spreading or curved upwards; lowermost leaves lanceolate or 

 oblong, more or less obtuse, narrowed into petioles : intermediate 

 ones shortly stalked or sessile, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 

 acute : uppermost sessile, broadly ovate and rounded at the base, 

 or lanceolate, acute or rather acuminate. Ped/umeles erect, rather 

 elongated, floccose, sometimes with few scattered hairs. Involucres 

 frequently forming an acute cone from a rounded or ventricose 

 base, finally truncate. Phyllaries more or less obtuse, occa- 

 sionally sub-acuminate, rarely acute. Pappus rufescent. 



The above species may be distinguished from S. vulgatum by its 

 taller and more leafy stem and the (usual) absence of true root-leaves; 

 also by the ^allous base of its petioles, or (when the leaves are 

 sessile) of their midrib, which is often curiously tufted with short 

 hairs at its junction with the stem. It also differs in having few 

 sharp and usually large teeth towards the middle of the leaves 



* For the description of the term " sub-reticulate" or "faUely 3 veined" see 

 Preface, page viii. 



