This plant is one of the very commonest we have. It is in flower all the
year round, and grows everywhere. We have all gathered it to give to the
canaries, who love to pick the tiny seeds.
The Groundsel flowers grow in small heads of two or three together at
the end of short stalks which branch at intervals from top to bottom of
the stem. These stalks are not very strong, and as the flower-heads are
heavy, they make the stalks bend over.
This is another plant whose flowers are composed of a great many small
tubes tightly packed together. These tubes are yellow, and some have a
broad, short strap at the mouth of the tube, and in some the mouth is
evenly nicked all round. They grow in a tiny green cup, which is made up
of narrow strap-shaped green leaves tightly pressed together, and you
can only see the tips of the yellow flowers at the mouth of this cup.
After the flowers are withered, a bunch of white down is seen coming out
of the mouth of the green cup.
The stem of the Groundsel is soft and juicy, and it has a good many
hairs upon it.
The leaves are glossy dark green, and are shaped like a feather, with
large, regular divisions up the sides. Each division is finely waved all
round the edges.