896 FLORA. 



entire, sessile, 1-4 cm. long, 1-3 mm. wide; heads terminal and lateral on the 

 branches, short- peduncled or sessile, 8-12 mm. broad; involucre glabrons or nearly 

 so, about 8 mm. high, its inner bracts narrowly linear; achenes slightly shorter 

 than the filiform beak. In dry fields and waste places, Del. to Md. and Va. Nat. 

 from Europe. July-Aug. 



13. TARAXACUM Hall. 



Perennial acaulescent herbs, with basal tufted pinnatifid or sinuate -dentate 

 leaves, and large heads of yellow flowers, solitary, or very rarely 2 or 3 together at 

 the ends of naked hollow scapes. Involucre oblong or campanulate, its inner bracts 

 in 1 series, nearly equal, slightly united at the base, the outer of several series of 

 shorter somewhat spreading ones, often refiexed at maturity. Receptacle flat, 

 naked. Rays truncate and 5 -toothed at the summit. Anthers sagittate at the 

 base. Style-branches slender, obtusish. Achenes oblong or linear-fusiform, 4-5. 

 angled, 5-10-nerved, roughened or spinulose, at least above, tapering into a very 

 slender beak. Pappus of numerous filiform unequal simple persistent bristles. 

 [Name of some wild succory, probably of Arabic or Persian origin.] About 20 

 species, natives of the northern hemisphere and southern S. Am. 



Outer involucral bracts reflexed; achenes greenish brown, the beak 2-3 times their 



length. 1. T. Taraxacum. 

 Outer involucral bracts spreading or ascending. 



Achenes greenish, the beak 2-3 times their length. 2. T. latilobum. 



Achenes red, the beak not more than twice their length. 3. T. erythrospcrmum. 



i. Taraxacum Taraxacum (L.) Karst. Dandelion. Blowball. (I. F. f. 

 3532.) Root thick, deep, often 2-3 dm. long, bitter. Leaves oblong to spatulate 

 in outline, usually pubescent, at least when young, acute or obtuse, pinnatifid or 

 sinuate-lobed, rather succulent, 7-25 cm. long, 1-6 cm. wide, narrowed into peti- 

 oles; scape erect, 5-45 cm. high; head 3-5 cm. broad; flowers 150-200; inner 

 bracts of the involucre linear or linear-lanceolate, the outer similar, shorter, not 

 glaucous, reflexed, all acute; achenes greenish- brown, fusiform, spinulose above. 

 In fields and waste places. Perhaps indigenous northward, southward naturalized 

 as a weed from Europe. Also in Asia and distributed as a weed in all civilized 

 parts of the world. Jan-Dec. 



2. Taraxacum latilobum DC. Mountain Dandelion. Similar to the 

 preceding but scape lower, 5-15 cm. high. Leaves sinuately lobed with broadly 

 triangular lobes, but less deeply so than in T. Taraxacum and rarely as far as half 

 way to the midrib, or often merely dentate or subentire; heads smaller, about 3 cm. 

 wide; bracts fewer, the outer broadly ovate, appressed or merely spreading. In 

 moist places in subalpine or subarctic regions. Lab. to Br. Col., south in the moun- 

 tains to Colo, and Cal. (T. Taraxacum alpinum Porter; not T. alpinum Koch 

 of Europe.) 



3. Taraxacum erythrospermum Andrz. Red-seeded Dandelion. (I. F. 

 £' 3533-) Similar to the two preceding species, the leaves glabrous, very deeply 

 runcinate-pinnatifid or pinnately divided into narrower triangular-lanceolate usually 

 long-pointed segments; heads rarely more than 25 mm. broad, ^3-90 flowered; 

 bracts of the involucre glaucous, the outer lanceolate, spreading or ascending, the 

 inner linear. Longer, each usually with an appendage just below the tip; achenes 

 narrower, bright red, or red-brown, spinulose above; pappus dirty white. In fields 

 and woods, Me. to Vt., southern N. Y. and Penn. Nat. from Europe? April-June. 



14. SONCHUS L. 



Annual or perennial succulent herbs, with alternate, mostly auriculate-clasp- 

 ing, entire dentate lobed or pinnatifid, prickly-margined leaves, and large or 

 middle- sized, peduncled rorymbose or paniculate heads of yel low flowers. Invo- 

 lucre ovoid or campanulate, usually becoming thickened and more or less conic at 

 the base when old. its bracts herbaceous or membranous, imbricated in several 

 series, the outer successively smaller. Receptacle flat, naked. Rays truncate and 

 5 -toothed at the apex. Anthers sagittate at the base. Style-branches slender. 

 Achenes oval, oblong, or linear, more op less flattened, io-20-ribbed, somewhat 



