(Tomposite family. 



Bur Marigold. Bidens cernua. 



Found thi'ough August and September in swampy grounds. It is 

 very common, and grows from 1 to 5 feet in height. 



The stalk is leafy and branching, large and tough-fibred, smooth, 

 but grooved from the joints. The color is light yellow-green. 



The long leaf is narrow, and tapering to a slender point; it is 

 somewhat fulled upon the taut midrib, and the margin is irregularly 

 notched, while the surface is smooth. The color is a strong yellow- 

 green, lighter on the wide midrib. The leaves are opposite each other, 

 and partly grown together about the stalk. 



The small, tubular disc flower is dull tawny in color ; the rays, 

 usually 8 in number, are broad, and of a bright golden-yellow color. 

 The large flower-heads are encircled by two rows of green, or greenish, 

 bracts, the outer row being slightly twisted ; they are somewhat 

 nodding on short stems of equal length, and spring from the angles of 

 the leaves. 



The seed, armed with 4 stout prongs, and plentifully set with 

 backward-pointing bristles, is familiarly known as " beggars' tick " or 

 " stick-tight," — it never loses a chance to catch a ride on the clothes of 

 the unwary passer-by. Its smooth grooved stem, swelling at the joint, 

 is an interesting feature of this otherwise rather coarse plant. 



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