This sturdy flower is the parent of the snow-white Bachelor's Buttons,
which grow in our garden: it is a cousin of the Millfoil or Yarrow. It
is common all over the country, where you find it in meadows and
ditches, and by the roadside. It blooms in autumn.
The flowers resemble small daisies. You find about a dozen growing
together on short stalks, near the top of the main stem.
Each daisy consists of a disc which is closely covered with
greenish-white tube-flowers. The mouth of these tube-flowers is cut into
points which bend outward, and coming out of the centre of each tube,
you can see the yellow tip of the seed-vessel, round which the heads of
the stamens are placed edge to edge like a deep collar.
Round the outer edge of the disc there is a small circle of
tube-flowers, each of which has a broad white strap, and these straps
are nicked at the ends.
Underneath these small daisies stands a circle of tiny green pointed
leaves; these form a cup which protects the plant when it is in bud.
The stem of the Sneezewort is very sturdy. The leaves are sword-shaped,
with long veins running from the base to the tip. They clasp the stem,
and all round the edge they are cut into very fine teeth, like a saw.