Composite Jfamilp. 



Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle. Sonchiis asper. 



Found in cultivated fields, and along roadsides, in August. 



The stalk is either simple, or branching near the top, from 2 to 3 

 or 4 feet high, large, round, and very hoUovs^ like a tube, and juicy; it 

 is grooved, and smooth to the touch. The color is green, sometimes 

 streaked with red near the foot. 



The leaf is very long (sometimes 10 inches), lance-shaped with a 

 tapei'ing point, and noticeable rounded wing-like bases ; the margin is 

 deeply and iri'egulaily toothed, and the edge is rolled under, thus 

 making the teeth sharp-pointed, and stiff, like little spines ; the midrib 

 is prominent' beneath, wide, flat, and pale above; underneath many 

 veins show ; the texture is thin, and the surface is smooth. The upper 

 side is a cool clear green, the underside silvery, with a pale bloom. It 

 is clasping, the prolonged bases flaring like wings on either side of the 

 stalk. 



The flowers are tiny and downy ; light yellow in color ; gathered 

 in a flat-topped head (which is less than an inch across), enclosed in a 

 small vase-shaped, green, and leafy cup. The heads are set on slender 

 stems, in loose terminal groups, or singly on short leafy stems from the 

 angles of the leaves ; at the junction of these foot-stems small, oval 

 leaves occur. 



Nothing could be more suggestive of decorative design than the 

 fine arch and spring of this leaf, with its ornamental winged clasps ; 

 and its refinement of color is an added excellence. The highly in- 

 appropriate folk-name (it is said to be a favorite article of diet among 

 the English swine) should be abolished, and the plant called instead 

 The Gothic Thistle in memory of a school who could a[)preciate its 



sculptural significance better than the moderns. 



292 



