beautifulflowers032840mbp

2 BEAUTIFUL FLOWEBS OF KASHMIR [Plate 34
D. Leaves radical, long-stalked ; stems one
or more, erect ;
flower-heads many,
small (^ - 1 in.), erect ;
flowerstalks
slender, without bracts ;
outer involucral bracts minute, inner
all equal, linear, green; flowers
yellow ; achenes smooth ;
pappus
silvery or yellowish ... ... L. polycephala.
Fig. 1. Lactuca longifolia, DO, Long-leafed Lettuce.
Glabrous. Stems tall, erect, 3-6 ft. high, branched above.
Leaves 4-7 by J4 in., long-pointed, entire or sparingly
pinnatifid, stem-clasping, basal lobes narrow, sharp-pointed,
appressed to the stem. Heads i in. long; stalks slender,
nerved, beak not longer than the body.
Flowers . June .
Locality. Lower Sind Valley.
Distribution. W. and Central Himalaya, from Kashmir to
Nepal, 4,000-9,000 ft.
Fig. 2.
Lactuca decipiens,
C. B. Clarke.
(Decipiens means misleading, because this species can easily be
mistaken for another one.)
erect, 12-20-flowered, forming broad or narrow panicles.
Flowers blue-purple. Achenes T in. long including the beak,
dark brown, much compressed, faces nearly smooth, 3-5-
Glabrous. Stem tall, 2-3 ft. high, branched above. Lower
leaves rarely entire, mostly pinnatifid with the lobes bent
downwards, with a broad halbert-shaped terminal lobe ;
stemleaves
with long, winged stalk, broadened and ear-shaped at
the base ; uppermost lance-shaped. Heads f in. long, 6-8-
flowered, cylindric, glabrous, drooping. Flowers blue. Outer
involucral bracts oblong-egg-shaped, blunt, half as long as the
5-6 linear-oblong inner which are glabrous or stiff-hairy on
the back. Achenes i-J- in. long, compressed, ribbed, rather
suddenly contracted into a short dark beak which is | the
length of the body. Pappus | in. long, dirty white.
Flowers. August.
Locality. Khelanmarg, catchment area among scrub near
nala, about 10,000 ft., common ;
Dras.
Distribution. W. Himalaya, 8,000-10,000 ft.