464 



THE COMPOSITE FAMILY. 



pink or whitish. Hairs of the pappus 

 simple. 



In waste places and cultivated ground, 

 in western and southern Europe and 

 central Asia, extending northward to 

 Denmark, but scarcely eastward of the 

 Hhine in central Europe. Not unfre- 

 quent in England and Ireland, especially 

 near the sea, and occurs also in the low- 

 lands of Scotland. FL all summer. 



Fig. 553. 



5. Spear Thistle. Carduus lanceolatus, Linn. (Fig. 554.) 

 Bot. t. 107. Cnicus, Brit. Fl.) 



A rather stout biennial, 3 or 4 feet 

 high; the stem winged and prickly. 

 Leaves waved and pinnatifid, with short 

 but narrow lobes, the terminal longer 

 and lanceolate, all ending in a stiff 

 prickle, rough on the upper side with 

 short almost prickly hairs, white and 

 cottony underneath. Flower-heads few, 

 ovoid, near an inch and a half long when 

 in flower. Involucral bracts lanceolate, 

 cottony, ending in a stiff, spreading 

 prickle. Florets purple. Hairs of the 

 pappus feathery. 



In fields, pastures, and waste places, 

 very common throughout Europe and 

 Russian Asia, except the extreme north, 

 and spread with cultivation into other 

 parts of the world. Abundant in Britain. 

 Fl. all summer* 



Fig. 554. 



