PROMINENT FAMILIES 
event not aiding in fertilization except by attracting the insects 
which are to carry the pollen from stamen to pistil. The calyx- 
tube adheres to the ovary and is often surmounted by bristles, 
etc. (pappus). The flower-heads are supported by a structure 
which often suggests a shingled calyx, with many green bracts, 
suggesting sepals, overlapping each other. This is called the 
involucre. Clover-heads are also made up of florets, but lack 
the involucre of the Composite family, and the floret is irreg- 
ular. A magnifying lens is useful here, as elsewhere. Even 
without the lens one can see the little pistil of the Dandelion floret 
rising from the base of each strap-shaped corolla. Each floret, 
then, of the Dandelion is " perfect," that is, it has the organs 
necessary for fertilization, namely, the stamens and the pistil. 
It will facilitate the study to know the common character- 
istics of a few other important families, thus : 
Mustard family {Cruciferce) . Herbs with alternate leaves, 
generally with small white or yellow flowers, with four sepals, 
four petals, and six stamens. Fruit a pod. 
Parsley family {UmhellifercB). Herbs, often coarse, with 
many tiny flowers, with five petals and five stamens, in umbels, 
generally white or yellow; alternate leaves, generally compound; 
root sometimes aromatic, stem generally hollow. Queen Anne's 
Lace is a familiar example. 
Heath family {EricacecB). Generally shrubs, with alternate 
simple leaves, and blossoms with coalescing petals forming a 
so-called gamopetalous corolla, often urn-shaped. The Huckle- 
berry is a familiar example. 
Pulse family {Leguminosce). Easily recognized (excepting in 
the case of some regular flowers) by the corolla, which suggests 
a butterfly (papilionaceous). This corolla is formed of five 
irregular petals, the upper largest (standard), two lateral ones 
(wings) , and two lower united (keel) ; generally ten stamens, all 
coalescing in a tube, or one separate, rarely all separate. Fruit 
a pod. Leaves commonly compound, alternate, with stipules. 
The Pea blossom is a familiar illustration . Clovers belong to this 
family, the separate flowers being small and packed in a head. 
