442 
Clover-Seed and its Impurities. 
Fig. 19. Chrysan- 
themum Leucan- 
themum, Linn. 
Ox-eye Daisy. 
taurea nigra, Linn.), a grey shining fruit, crowned with a 
short pappus ; of Nipplewort (Lapsana communis, Linn.), 
a pale-brown, slightly-compressed, curved, and striated fruit, 
without pappus ; but chiefly of the Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysan- 
themum Leucanthemum, Linn.), a four-sided fruit, with white 
elevated ribs, and without pappus (Fig. 19). 
This is a perennial weed too common in meadows 
and waste places. It has a somewhat woody root, 
furnished with numerous long-branched fibres. 
The large compound flowers, with a yellow centre 
and white spreading tip, are abundant in June 
and July. 
Perhaps the most frequent foreign seed in clover 
is that of the Rib-grass (Plantago lanceolata, Linn.). 
The seeds are oblong, black, and shining, with the front surface 
concave and the other convex. (Fig. 20.) 
This perennial plant has a tapering, some- 
what woody root, with numerous spreading 
I. ^ h tiW fibres. It is thought to be a useful plant in 
Ill M'lSlill some pastures, but it does not appear to be 
relished by cattle. The seeds of another 
Plantain (Plantago media, Linn.) are less fre- 
quently found (Fig. 21). They may be dis- 
tinguished from those of the Rib-grass by 
the front of the seed being flat. 
The seeds of two Borragineous plants occur. 
The angular wrinkled nuts of the Viper's 
Bugloss (Echium vulgar e, Linn.), a biennial 
plant, with a long tapering root, and with the 
stem and leaves rough with pale rigid bristles 
(Fig. 22). This is one of the most ornamental 
of our native plants, but it is valueless to the 
agriculturist. The seeds of Scorpion-grass 
(Myosotis arvensis, Hoffm.) are brown or black, with a keel in 
front (Fig. 23). The plant is a low 
annual, with fibrous roots, and 
branched stems with small pale- 
blue flowers, appearing in June, 
July, and August. 
The oblong smooth nutlets of 
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris, Linn., 
Fig. 24) are very frequently found 
in clover. They are about the same 
size as the larger seeds of clover, and are apt to be overlooked. 
The plant is a perennial, having roots of numerous long wiry 
fibres, and a single flowering stem ; but it gives off creeping 
Fig. 20. Plantago lanceo- 
lata. Linn. Rib-grass. 
ft 
Fig. 21. Plantago me- 
dia, Linn. Plantain. 
Fig. 22. Echium vulgare, Linn. Viper's 
Bugloss. 
