composite. 495 



usually stiffer, and never so white. The habit is also different, with 

 the exception of a few species, which are also intermediate in more 

 essential characters. The species are some of them very variable, and 

 specimens are frequently found apparently intermediate between some 

 of the commonest ones. In the attempt to classify these forms, and to 

 give greater exactness to their definitions, modern botanists have dis- 

 tributed them into a large number of supposed species, amounting to 

 between 30 and 40 for Britain alone. But the difficulty of distinguish- 

 ing them appears only to increase with their subdivision, and the 

 seven here enumerated will probably be found to be the only truly 

 botanical species indigenous to Britain.* 



Peduncles radical, bearing a single flower-head. 



Peduncles leafless. Stems creeping. Leaves white under- 

 neath. Flower-heads pale-yellow 1. Mouse-ear R. 



Peduncles or flower-stems with one or more narrow leaves. 

 ISTo creeping stems. Leaves not white. Flower-heads 

 large, bright yellow. 

 Radical leaves ovate. Involucres with short hairs . . 3. Wall R. 

 Radical leaves narrow. Involucres with long hairs . 2. Alpine R. 

 Flowering-stems with more than one flower-head. 



Radical leaves mostly persistent at the time of flowering. 

 Stem-leaves one or few. Outer involucral bracts few 

 and short. 

 Stem-leaves ovate and toothed, or small and narrow, 



stalked or sessile, scarcely stem-clasping . . . . 3. Wall R. 

 Stem-leaves one or two, entire, glaucous, clasping the 



stem with broad, rounded auricles 4. Honeyivort H. 



No radical leaves at the time of flowering. Stems leafy. 

 Outer involucral bracts imbricated. 

 Upper stem-leaves sessile or shortly stalked, not clasping 

 the stem. 

 Upper stem-leaves all tapering at the base, usually 



narrow 5. Umbellate R. 



Upper stem-leaves short and broad, rounded at the 



base 6. Savoy R. 



Upper stem-leaves clasping the stem. 



Auricles of the stem-leaves short and rounded. 



Stem- leaves several, ciliate. Pappus dirty- white . 7. Prenanth R. 

 Stem-leaves very few, glabrous. Pappus very white 



and soft RaivTcweed Crepis. 



Auricles of the stem -leaves long and very pointed, or 



angular Marsh Crepis. 



* For further details on the proposed species or permanent varieties, see Back- 

 house's ' Monograph of the British Hieracia,' where the principal British forms are 

 carefully described, and distributed into 33 species. 



