COMPOSITE FLOWERS 
207 
Dandelion flowers show many adaptations. The stamens 
are joined in a ring with the anthers opening on the inside of 
the ring. The anthers mature their 
pollen before the pistil of that flower 
is ready for pollen. The pistil, with its 
stigmatic surfaces pressed tightly to¬ 
gether, pushes up through the mass of 
pollen filling the tube, becoming cov¬ 
ered on the outside. Insects crawling 
over the head drag some of these pollen 
grains to pistils which are mature. When 
the pistil of any one flower, expands, its 
own pollen is not likely to get on it. 
The closely crowded flowers, the ar¬ 
rangement of their parts, the bright 
color, the abundant pollen and the cer¬ 
tainty of cross-pollination are adapta¬ 
tions which make the dandelion one of 
the most successful of plants. 
The composites as a whole show more 
adaptations than other flowers, so we 
find among them those which are of 
most interest to the scientist and those 
which are of greatest annoyance to the 
farmer, namely, wild carrot, paint-brush, 
burdock, and thistles of all kinds. They 
are most successfully fought by not giv¬ 
ing them opportunity to blossom and 
form fruit. In some cases, roots as well 
as seeds serve to propagate plants. Tap¬ 
roots (page 250), characteristic of some 
plants, help them to maintain them¬ 
selves under unfavorable conditions, 
and rhizomes (page 334) help the plants 
which have them to spread. 
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4-A 
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Figure 192. — Flower 
and Fruit of Dan¬ 
delion. 
Upper figure, A , 
strap-shaped corolla ; 
B, stigma; C, style, 
covered with pollen 
grains; D, stamens 
united by their anthers; 
E, filaments; F, pap¬ 
pus ; G, akene. 
Lower figure, A, re¬ 
mains of flower; B, 
pappus; C, akene. 
