The dandelion “flower” (Fig. 85) is also really a head consisting of a great many separate flowers. There are often between two and three hundred of these little flowers present in one head. Below the head are several green bracts, and these protect the flowers both in the bud and at night (Fig. 86). The flowers of the dandelion are all of one type. The corolla is strap-shaped (Fig. 86, 2), and of a beautiful yellow colour to attract insects. On the end of the strap may be seen five small teeth which indicate that it really consists of five [Pg 114] united petals. At the base of the corolla is a tuft of fine hairs, which is the top of the calyx-tube, and at the bottom of the flower is a little white knob—the ovary. The five stamens are fixed on the inside of the corolla-tube. Their anthers are united to form a tube through which the upper part of the style, and the forked stigma protrude. Fig. 87.—Thistle. (× ¼.) Fig. 88.—Tubular flower of Thistle (magnified). It will be noticed that a dandelion flower is practically like a ray flower of a daisy, with the addition of calyx and stamens. The thistle (Fig. 87) is another common member of the family. Its bracts are prickly, and are a protection from the attacks of animals. The flowers (Fig. 88) are all tubular. The common thistle distributes its fruit by a plume of radiating fine hairs—the calyx. The fruit is commonly known as “thistle down.” The Compositae, as plants of this family are called, are found in all parts of the world. The family is the largest in the vegetable kingdom, and many of the plants included in it are of considerable importance. 23. THE FOXGLOVE FAMILY. 1. The foxglove.—Examine a flowering plant of foxglove (Fig. 89). Notice the general habit of growth. In the flower make out the five-lobed calyx, the irregular corolla with five petals joined to form a tube, the four stamens (two long and two short) fixed on the corolla tube (Fig. 90), and the form and attachment of the pistil. Watch bees [Pg 115] visiting the flower. 2. The speedwell.—Compare the speedwell (Fig. 91), and notice that the corolla is more nearly regular than is the case with the foxglove, that it consists of four combined petals, and that two stamens are fixed upon it. 3. The musk.—Compare the musk. Dissect a flower and notice the forms and positions of the parts. Especially examine the pistil with its two-lobed stigma. With a hair, carefully touch one of the lobes of the stigma of a growing flower and watch how the lobes close. Do the lobes open again? Put a little pollen on, and watch to see if this time the lobes open again after closing. Watch insects visiting the flowers and try to make out how the pollination of the stigmas is brought about.