COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY) Bux 
and softly woolly. Leaves alternate, three to six inches long, lance- 
shaped in outline but deeply cut and lobed, the margins toothed and 
very spiny; they are rather thin, net-veined, hairy, the lower ones 
narrowing to margined petioles, the upper ones sessile and clasp- 
ing. Heads large, solitary, terminal, closely surrounded by the 
upper leaves, deep yellow, about 
two inches broad, the florets all 
tubular, those in the central 
part perfect and fertile, those 
around the margin shorter than 
the others and sterile; invo- 
lucre ovoid, its bracts imbri- 
cated in several rows, the outer 
ones ovate and leathery, the 
inner ones lance-shaped and 
tipped with long, rigid, pinnately 
branched, reddish yellow spines. 
Achenes oblong, ridged, crowned 
with a double pappus, the inner 
row of short, fine, white hairs, 
the outer one of stiff, yellow 
bristles, about twice as long. 
Means of control 
Fic. 359.— Blessed Thistle (Cnicus 
benedictus). XX 4. 
Being annual, the persistent 
prevention of seed development - 
will suppress the weed, and, if its leaves and budding flowers can 
be sold for enough to pay for the labor required, so much the 
better. . 
NIPPLEWORT 
Lépsana communis, L. 
Other English names: Succory Dock, Ballogan. 
Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: June to September. 
Seed-time: July to October. nee 
Range: Quebec and Ontario to Michigan, southward to Pennsyl- 
vania and New Jersey; also on the Pacific Coast. 
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, and waste places. 
