254 
LII. COMPOSITE 
*Sphaeranthus indicus, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 275. A nearly 
erect, softly hairy, shrub-like herb ; stems 6-18 in. ; branches 
long, spreading, winged with the decurrent leaf-bases. Leaves 
alternate, sessile, obovate-oblong, J-1J in., narrowed to the 
base, toothed. Heads compound, globose, about J in. diam., 
solitary, terminal ; component heads numerous, very small, 
crowded, each containing about 12 pink or purple flowers. 
Involucral bracts nearly as long as the flowers, linear, hairy at the 
tip ; receptacle naked ; pappus none ; outer flowers 10-12, female, 
corolla-tube dilated in the middle, 4- or 5-toothed ; innermost 
flowers 2 or 3, 2-sexual, corolla-tube slender, straight, 2-3-toothed. 
Achenes minute. 
Throughout India, common on dry ricefields, ascending to 5000 ft. ; 
December-March. — Tropical regions of the Old World. 
16. FILAGO. From the Latin filum, a thread ; referring to the 
cottony leaves and stems. — Temperate regions of the Old World. 
Filago germanica, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 277. A nearly erect 
or prostrate, cottony herb ; stems 1-6 in., branched from the base. 
Leaves alternate, obovate-oblong, \ in., stalked or sessile. Heads 
numerous, discoid, J in. long, crowded in sessile clusters in the 
forks of the branches, the clusters enclosed by leaf -like bracts. 
Involucral bracts pale yellow, scarious, shining, acute ; pappus 
rough ; corollas of the outer flowers very slender, of the inner 
larger but scarcely dilated at the top, 4-5-toothed. Achenes 
minute, rough. 
Suni, in the Sutlej valley, on dry, rocky ground; April-June. — N. India, 
ascending to 3000 ft. — W. Asia, Europe (Britain, Cudweed). 
17. LEONTOPODIUM, From the Greek leon, a lion, and pous, 
podos, a foot ; referring to the clustered heads. — Mountains of 
Europe and Asia. 
Leontopodium alpinum, Cass. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 279. A peren- 
nial, woolly herb ; flowering-stems tufted, 2-6 in., slender, leafy, 
erect or nearly so. Leaves sessile, J-l in., entire ; basal spathu- 
late, rosulate ; stem-leaves linear, alternate. Heads discoid, 
1 -sexual, 5 in. long, 3-5, sessile in a terminal cluster with a few 
spreading, densely woolly, leaf -like bracts at its base. Involucral 
bracts in many series, scarious, oblong-lanceolate, purple -tipped, 
the outer ones woolly ; receptacle convex, naked, pitted ; pappus 
in one series, longer than the corolla, minutely barbed ; corollas 
white, tubular, of two kinds, those of the female flowers linear, 
minutely 5-toothed, those of the male flowers dilated in the 
upper half, deeply 5-toothed. Perfect achenes ovoid, rough ; 
those of the male flowers linear, smooth. 
Theog, in pastures, Narkunda ; May, June. — Alpine Himalaya, 9000- 
18,000 ft. — Central Asia, Europe (the Edel- Weiss of the Alps). 
