196 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



dried. Fertile and sterile flowers in the same heads, ail sur- 

 rounded by dry, white scales. They are arranged in flat 

 corymbs, or sometimes in panicles. Leaves, lanqe-shaped, 

 long, without petioles, irregularly scattered on the stems, pale 

 green and whitish, woolly. The stem is woolly. Time, July 

 to September. 



Dyed blue and red this flower was once a favorite for winter 

 decorations, and in company with dried grasses made some par- 

 lors hideous. 



46. Robin's-plantain 



Erlgeron bellidifblius. — Family, Composite. Color, light 

 purple. Leaves, those on stems few, long, and narrow, partly 

 clasping, entire. Root-leaves broader. Time, May. 



A very pretty, daisy-like composite, with fine, violet rays, many 

 of them on hairy stems, appearing among our spring flowers. 

 Many people think it an early daisy. It grows in pasture-lands, in 

 dry or sometimes moist soil. About 2 feet high. 



47. Yarrow, or Milfoil 



Achillea millefolium (named after Achilles, who is said to 

 have discovered its healing properties). — Family, Composite. 

 Color, white, sometimes pink. Leaves, twice-pinnately divided 

 into sections, which are 3 to 5-cleft. Time, August. 



The small flowers grow in a close, flat, stiff, and hard corymb, 

 3 or 4 inches across. The stems are simple and stout, covered 

 with the dissected, tansy-like leaves. There is a rose-colored 

 variety found farther north. The plant is strongly, not unpleas- 

 antly, scented. Yarrow-tea has had a reputation in many coun- 

 tries, among the common people, for its medicinal virtues. 



48. Elecampane 



Inula Helenium. — Family, Composite. Color, yellow. 

 Leaves, woolly underneath, large, undivided, alternate, serrate, 

 the lower with petioles, the upper sessile and clasping. Time, 

 August. 



