THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 13 
November 2, 1908 
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The Flannel Flower. 
We only know one truly Iccal name for 
this plant, and that is the ‘ Hlannel Flower’ 
a rather unpoetical designation, but a 
reaJly descriptive one, and one universally 
accepted. It is, of course, in allusion to the 
inyolucre, which looks as if it were snipped 
» Out of white flannel. It is also known to a 
few by the name of Australian, Edelweiss. 
The true Edelweiss is found on the Alps of 
Europe, and its botanical name is Leontopo- 
see, : 
It was called Actinotus Helianthi by 
Labillardiere, the celebrated French 
botanist, who visited the eastern and south- 
ern coasts cf Australia (inclading what is 
known as Tasmania) during the latter part 
of the last century. The generic name 
Actinotus is from the Greek actinotos, 
radiated, in reference to the rayed appear- 
auce of the involucre, i.e,, what people often 
call ‘ petals’ in speaking of the flannel flower, 
but whether correctly or not will be evident 
later on. The word is akin to a Greek word 
the botanical name for the sun- 
flower, which word is again 
derived from the Greek helian- 
thes, a sunflower, The name, 
therefore, is an allusion to the 
general resemblance of the 
flannel flower to the sunflower. 
Erect, perennial, 1 to 2 feet 
high, covered with a soft dense 
almost floccose or tomentum, 
rarely wearing off from the 
upper sides of the leaves. 
Our flannel flower is, closely 
related to the carrot, parsnip, 
celery and other prosaic plants, 
and not to the daisy, of which 
the minor poets love to sing. 
Let us explain. Takea flannel 
flower. Pull the so-called 
petals off, for they are in the 
way. We then have a soft 
woolly hemisphere, which con- 
sists, not of one flower, but of a 
very large number closely 
packed together. Hither cut or 
pick away half the flower head. 
Even by naked eye it will be 
then seen that the flower head 
is as stated, and it will be 
observed that the tiny flowers 
all rad ate from one point, like 
the spokes of an umbrella, If 
you are ever in doubt as to 
what an umbel is. always think 
of the spokes of an umbrella. 
Of course, in the case of the 
flannel flower, where the indi- 
vidual florets are so minute, the 
stalks of the umbel must be 
more minute; in fact, they are 
so small that beginners over- 
look them altogether. Itis best 
to examine this flower with a 
magnifying glass if one is handy, 
but this is not necessary to any- 
one with good eyesight. Most 
of the little florets have anthers, 
which can be seen to be more 
abundant towards the circum- 
ference (periphery) of the 
flower-head, where it is yellow, 
than towards the middle, When 
the flannel flower is fully out, 
and cannot run to seed, this 
can be made out readily by 
the naked eye. 
Just one other note about the 
flower. It may be that some of 
our readers scarcely thought we 
were serious in throwing doubts 
upon ithe ‘petal’ being petals. 
But the fact of the matter is, 
the flannel flower has no petals. 
If you were to put the most 
searching power of the maicros- 
cope'on to these little florets we 
have been speaking about, you 
would find no ‘petals, 
The ‘petal’ of the flannel 
flower are bracts—that is to say 
each ‘petal’ is a bract—and the 
whole of them, the whole ‘star,’ 
- dium alpinum. It belongs to the Daisy 
family (Compositae), to which our flannel 
! which signifies the rays of the sun. The X ; ; - 
flower does not belong, as we shall presently |, isTcollecti yey) eae alm alin 
specefic name helianthi is from helianthus, 
