COMPOSITE FAMILY 
of Dicotyledons. 
493 
The most conspicuous character of the 
family is the grouping of the flowers into a compact head, which 
is surrounded by bracts 
forming the structure 
called involucre (Fig. 
446). The flowers are 
epigynous, the corolla 
is usually tubular or 
strap-shaped, and the 
five stamens are in- 
serted on the corolla 
and usually have their 
anthers united in a tube 
around the style. The 
calyx is often a tuft of 
hairs (pappus). They 
have developed very 
effective means of dis- 
seminating their seeds. 
In many, as the Dande- 
sodas L BY 
EVE 4 BY 
y ae 
>| 
Z 
he 
eee 
lion and Thistles illus- 
trate, the pappus forms 
a parachute-like ar- 
After Lecomte. 
rangement, which enables the fruit to be easily transported by 
Fic. 445. — Flower, fruit, and seeds 
of the Coffee. At the left, a flower, 
and at the right, a fruit with the upper 
portion of the ovary removed to show 
the two seeds. After Karsten. 
the wind. In others, as the 
Burdock, Cocklebur, and 
Spanish Needles illustrate, 
the fruits have hooks or 
spines, which catch onto pass- 
ing animals. 
Although the family is a 
large one, it contains only a 
few food plants, of which Let- 
tuce, Chicory, Oyster plant, 
the Globe Artichoke, and 
Jerusalem Artichoke are the 
chief ones. Some, as Arnica, 
Boneset, Camomile, Dandelion, Tansy, and Wormwood, are 
used some for Medicine, and from the seeds of the Sunflower oil 
js extracted. 
