Page fifty-eight 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST 
July, 1952 
12. Common with other thistles in unculti- 
vated places. 
253. A — Car duns tenuifiorus (Slender 
Thistle). No smell. October 5-December 28. 
East park lands, Beaumont, common in the 
hills. 
254. A — Silybum Marianum (Milk 
Thistle). August 1 -December 28, February 
22. Also commoner in the hills. The name 
Milk Thistle is derived from the white 
veins mottleing the leaves. 
255. Centaur ea melitensis (Maltese 
Cockspur). December 22. This cockspur 
with yellow flowers is not common on the 
plains but common in country districts. 
256. A — Centaurea Calcitrapa (Star 
Thistle). November 22-June 14, with 
occasional flowers in July, September and 
October. This purple flowered thistle is 
common by the roadside. Goldfinches eat 
the seeds. 
257. Carthamnus lanatus (Woolly Star 
Thistle). December 1 -April 26. Gets its 
name from the woolly appearance when the 
fruits are ripe. Has been common at High- 
field near Beaumont and also in country 
districts. 
258. A — Cichorium Intybus (Chicory). 
Some in flower all the year, but chiefly in 
the late summer. The pale blue flowers 
make it readily recognized. Common along 
streets and in waste places. The wild form 
of the chicory of commerce. 
259 . Hedypnois cretica. October 2-Nov- 
ember 21. This yellow flowered plant is 
common in many places. 
260. A A — Hpochoeris radicata (Rooted 
Cat’s-ear). No smell. October 29-fuly 5, 
July 11. Has a rosette of leaves and a long 
taproot so that it is a nuisance in lawns. 
Commoner in the country. Is a second class 
fodder. 
261. H. glabra. August 10. (This record 
requires checking.) 
262. A—Tragopogon porrifolius (Salsify). 
October 3-May 11. A rather handsome 
flowered plant with long fruiting stems and 
fruit with golden brown plumose bristles 
on the top of the long beaked achenes and 
with a milky juice. A wild form of the 
cultivated plant. Has a rather parsnip- 
shaped elongated root. 
263. Scorzonera laciniata. December 13. 
Beaumont. Appears occasionally in various 
parts of the state. [Scorzonera, Black salsify 
or Viper’s grass, a plant with parsnip-like 
root used as vegetable. [It., prob.f, scorzone 
adder “because it doeth heale the bytinges 
of this beast”]— The Concise Oxford Diet. 
264. A —Picris echioides (Ox-tongue). All 
the year, flowering abundantly in the sum- 
mer and autumn. Rather a scrambling 
harsh-leaved plant. Looks somewhat like a 
sow thistle. 
265. AA —Taraxacum officinale (Dande- 
lion). Some in flower probably all the year, 
but in summer on watered lawns. Common 
along North Terrace. The leaves are sup- 
posed to resemble in shape the teeth of a 
lion. When mowed clown the flowering 
stalk with its yellow flowers spreads 
laterally but becomes erect when the seeds 
are ripe, so as to be readily disturbed by 
any animal knocking against the plant. 
The seed blows away suspended by the 
silky bristles of the pappus at the end of 
the filiform beak of the achene. 
266. A — Lactuca saligna (Willow Let- 
tuce). May 12. 
267. AA— L. Scariola (Prickly Lettuce). 
December 20-J'une 3. A few plants were 
found adjacent to Frome Road in the sum- 
mer of 1944 and 1945. Has now become 
widespread. A young plant was even found 
growing on the steps of Parliament House 
on January 14, 1951. 
268. A A —Sonchus oleraceus (Sow-thistle). 
Moderate fragrance. All the year. Relished 
by stock. Poultry and canaries like the 
heads. 
269. S. asper (Prickly Sow-thistle). No 
smell. October 3-November 30. Common 
in the country districts and the hills, but 
not common on the plains. Has appeared 
at Beaumont and Hope Valley. 
270. Crepis virens. No smell. December 
30-January 4. This plant looks somewhat 
like a small form of the Rooted Cat’s-ear, 
but there are glandular and simple hairs 
on the bracts. Common in the wetter 
climate of the hills. Has appeared in 
watered lawns at Beaumont and Spring- 
bank. 
