. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Wild-Flower St-udy 567 very selfish toward the world who are very thoughtful of their own fami- lies, and the burdock belongs to this class. We must study carefully the arrangement of its leaves in order to understand its cleverness. The long basal leaves are stretched out fiat; the next higher, somewhat smaller ones are lifted at a polite angle so as not to stand in their light. This courtesy characterizes all the leaves of the plant, for each higher leaf is smaller and has a shorter
. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Wild-Flower St-udy 567 very selfish toward the world who are very thoughtful of their own fami- lies, and the burdock belongs to this class. We must study carefully the arrangement of its leaves in order to understand its cleverness. The long basal leaves are stretched out fiat; the next higher, somewhat smaller ones are lifted at a polite angle so as not to stand in their light. This courtesy characterizes all the leaves of the plant, for each higher leaf is smaller and has a shorter petiole, which is lifted at a narrower angle from the stalk; and all the leaves are so nicely adjusted as to form a pyramid, allowing the sunlight to sift down to each part. While some of the upper- most leaves may be scarcely more than an inch long, the lower ones are very large. They are pointed at the tip and wide at the base; where the leaf joins the petiole it is irregular, bordered for a short distance on each side with a vein, and then finished with a "flounce," which is so full that it even reaches around the main stem—another device for getting more sunlight for itself and shutting it off from plants below. On the lower side, the leaf is whitish and feltlike to the touch; above it is a raw green, often somewhat smooth and shining. The leaf is in quality poor, coarse and flimsy, and it hangs—a web of shoddy—on its strong supporting ribs; lucky for it that its edges are slightly notched and much ruffled, else they would be torn and tattered. The petiole and stems are felty in texture; the petiole is grooved, and expands at its base to grasp the stems on both sides with a certain vicious pertinacity which characterizes the whole plant. The flower-heads come off at the axils of the upper leaves, and are often so crowded that the leaf is almost lost to sight. It is amazing to behold the number of flower-heads which develop on one thrifty plant. The main ste
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