LII. COMPOSITE 283 
umbelled ; stalks pubescent. Involucral bracts black-downy with 
a few interspersed hairs ; tips of the outer bracts recurved. 
Matiana, in woods ; August, September. — W. Himalaya, 5000-10,000 ft. — 
W, A.sia, N. America, Europe (Britain, Hawkweed). 
54. TARAXACUM, From the Greek tarasso, to stir up ; refer- 
ring to its medicinal effects. — Temperate and cold regions. 
Taraxacum officinale, Wigg. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 401. A per- 
ennial herb ; juice milky. Leaves all radical, sessile, usually 
glabrous, variable in shape, narrowly oblong, 2-8 in., irregularly 
pinnatifid, lobes linear or triangular, acute, toothed, pointing 
downwards, or rarely oblanceolate and nearly entire. Heads 
ligulate, 2 in. diam., glabrous, solitary on a hollow, leafless 
stalk 2-8 in. long. Inner involucral bracts linear, erect, nearly 
equal, margins often white, tips usually thickened or hooked ; 
outer bracts short, ovate, erect or recurved ; receptacle flat, naked ; 
flowers yellow ; pappus copious, white, not feathery, soft ; ligules 
long, spreading, 3-5-toothed, often brown on the back ; style-arms 
long. Achenes glabrous, flattened, ribbed, narrowed to the base, 
minutely spiny on the upper half, abruptly contracted into a long, 
slender beak crowned by the pappus. 
Simla, common ; March-November. — Himalaya, 1000-18,000 ft.— Temperate 
and cold regions. 
Closely allied to the British Dandelion, T. Dens-leonis. 
T. Wattii, Hook. /., FI. Br. Ind. iii. 402, occurs on the top of Shali ; it 
differs from the above in the short, thick beak of the achenes. 
55. LACTUCA. The Latin name of the Lettuce, L. saliva , 
derived from lac, lactis, milk; referring to its juice. — N. tem- 
perate regions, S. Africa. 
Erect or decumbent, leafy herbs ; juice milky. Leaves alter- 
nate, usually provided with a pair of basal lobes close to the stem. 
Heads ligulate, few-flowered. Involucre narrowly cylindric ; 
bracts in few series, thin, green, margins often membranous, 
inner ones long, narrow, nearly equal ; outer lanceolate or ovate, 
usually much shorter; receptacle flat, naked; flowers yellow or 
blue ; pappus copious, silvery white, soft, not feathery ; ligules 
long, spreading, 3-5-toothed ; style-arms long. Achenes flattened, 
more or less rough, ribbed, beaked, tip of the beak dilated in a 
pappus-bearing disk. — Ripe achenes are necessary to distinguish 
this genus from Prenanthes. 
Flowers yellow. 
Stems leafy. Leaves pinnatifid . . . . 1. L, Scariola. 
Stems naked. Radical leaves triangular . 6. L. sqgittarioides, 
Flowers blue or blue-purple. 
Stems erect. 
Stems 6-18 in. Beak twice as long as its achene 2. L. dissecta. 
Stems 3-7 ft. Beak not longer than its achene. 
Leaves entire ...... 
3. L. longifolia 
