Si- - 



T ri 



^ 



I 







tlianalmoft any deciduous tree./ It is as hardy as 

 any of the forts, and may be propagated in ' the 

 lame manner i but at prefent it is rare in the Enghfh 



cncs. . ', - . 



rXRROTS. See Daucus. ' • 



C ART H AMDs. Lin. Gen. Plant. 838. [fo called 



of xaHf^y, Gr. to purge, becaufe the feeds of it 



' are ouroino-,! Baftard Saffron, or Safflower intrench; 



. 1 



The Characters are. 



t ■ 



4 « 



-% 



flo'tver compofed of fevers! hermaphrodite Jl' 



f^ 



fcales 



\ 



compofed of many fiat leaves^ broad at their bafe^ Ending 

 inafpine, nndfpread open below. "The florets are funnel- 

 kaped, of one leaf cut into five equal fegments at the top ; 

 thefe have five fhort hairy ftdmina^ terminated hy cy- 

 lindrical tubular fummitsV In the center is /mated a fhort 

 germen^fupportingaflenderfiyle the length of the fiamina, 



crowned by afingleftigma. Thegermen afterward becomes 

 efmgh oblongs angular feedy inclofed in the empalement. 

 This o-enus of plants is ranged in the firft: feftion of 

 'LinncTils's nineteenth clafs, intitled Syngenefia Po- 

 lygamia .Squalis ; the flowers of this feftion being 

 compofed of only fruitful florets, and their fummits 

 are connefted in form of a cylindrical tube/^ ; ; -. " 



i, - ■ * T ' ■■- 



The Species are, ■ : " 



i\ Carthamus (TV/^^^i'mj) foliis ovatis integfis ferrato- 



aculeatis, Hort. Cliff. 394. Bqftard Saffron with oval 



entire leaves^ which have fpiny ferratures. Carthamus 



This is an annual plant, which rifes with a ftifi^ lig- 

 neous flalk two feet and a half, or three feet high, 

 -J dividing upward into many branches, which are gV 

 nifhed with oval pointed leaves, fitting clofe to the 

 branches : thefe are entire, and are flightly fawed on 

 their edges, each tooth being terminated by a fliort 

 fpine. The flowers grow fingle at tlie extremity of 

 ■ each branch : the heads of flowers are large, inclofed 

 , in a fcaly empalement ; each fcale is broad at the 

 bafe, flat, and formed like a leaf of the plant, ter- 

 minating in a fliarp fpine. The lower part of the 

 empalement fpreads open, but the fcales above clofely 

 embrace the florets, which fl:and out near an inch 

 above the empalement \ tliefe are of a fine Safiroa 

 colour, and this is the part which is gathered for the 

 ufes above-mentioned. When the florets decay, the 

 germen which is fituated in each, become fingle, 

 ' oblong, angular feeds, of a white colour, and have 

 ; a pretty fl:rong fliell or cover to them. It flowers in 



- ' July and Auguft, and the feeds ripen in autumn; but 

 'i if the feafon proves cold and moift, when the plants 



are in flower, there will be no good feeds produced; 



■ ■' fo that there are few feafons, wherein the feeds of this 

 ' plant do come to perfeftion in England. 



- The feeds of this plant are fometim.es ufed in me- 



■ dicine, and are accounted a pretty fl:rong cathartic, 



■ ^but at prefent they are feldom prefcribed. It is pro- 

 pagated by feeds, which fl-iould be fown in April, 

 upon a bed of light earth : the bcfl: way is to fow them 



jfiard ': in drills, drawn at two feet and a half diilance from 



• Saffron oftbefloopSy with a Saffron-coloured flower. /. - 



fi. Carthamus (Lanalus) caule pilofo fuperne lanato, 



foliis inferioribus pinnatifidis, fummis amplexicauli- 



:, bus dcntatis: Hort. Upfal. 251. Carthamus with a 



hairy folk 



theftalk 



Diflaff Thifll 



each other, in which the feeds ftiould be fcattered 

 ' , thinly,!^ vfor the plants mufi: not flrand nearer each 



- other than a foot in the rows j but as fome of the 



-^ feeds will fail, fo a greater quantity ftiould be fown, 



as it will be eafy to thin the plants, at the time when 



the ground is hoed. If the feeds are good, the 



* plants will appear in lefs than a month ; and in a 



4, Carthamus (Creticus) cauk l^viufculo, calycibus j fortnight or three weeks after, it will be proper to 

 ; fublanatis, flofculis fubnbvenis, foliis inferioribus ly- . hoe the ground to defl:roy the weeds, and at the 

 ratis, fummis amplexicaulibus dentatis. Lin. Sp. 11 63. fame time the plants fliould be thinned where they 



are too clofe ; but at this time they fli-ould not be fe- 



. parated to their full diflrance, lefl: fome of them fliould 



afterward fail •, fo that if they are now left fix inches 



fmooth flalk 



florets^ the under leHves lyre-fhaped, 

 the flalk 



folio & facie, flore leucoph^eo. Tourh. Cor. ^^. \ ^f^^i^^er, there will be room enough for the plants to 



4. Carthamus {Tingitanus) foliis radicalibus pinnatis, j ■ • grow, till the next time of hoeing, when they muft 



: caulinis pinnatifidis, caule unifloro. Lin, Sp. 11 63. j ^ be thinned to the diftance they are to remain for good: 



Carthamus whofe radical leaves are winged^ thofe on the 



ftalks zving'pointedy and one flower on a flalk, Cnicus I carefully performed in dry weather, will deftroy the 



perenrtis' cxruleus Tingitanus. H. L. 162, Blue pe- 1 '" weeds and make the ground clean, fo that the plants 



'. after this they fliould have a third hoeing, which, if 



'4 



< 



:. ■* 



will require no farther care, till they come to flower ; 



5. Carthamus {Carduncellus) foliis caulinis linearibus j when, if the Safliower is intended for ufe, the florets 

 pinnatis Ipngitudine plante. Lin. Sp. Plant. 831.1 Ihould be cut off from the flowers as they come to 



flalks 

 ^- ■ njohich are as long as the plant. Cnicus caeruleus hu- 



perfedion ; but this mufl; be performed when they 

 are perfeftly dry, and then they fliould be dried in a 



blue fl 



Dwarf Cnicus if Mount kiln, with a moderate fire, in the fame manner as 



t '^^-•i 





6. Carthamus [Caruleus) foliis lanceolatis fpinolb-den- 



the true Saffron, which will prepare the commodity 

 for ufe. 



tatis, caule fubunifloro. Hort. Cliff. 11 63. Carthamus But if the plants are defigned for feed, the flowers 



fpear-fbaped leaves prickly indented^ and one fl^ 

 •h flalk 



Rougher bltie Cfiicus, 





efc 



dentaris. Prod. Leyd. 136. Carthamus with fword- 

 Jhaped leaves which are finuated and indented. Cnicus 

 Hifpanicusarborefcensfcetidifllmus. Tourn. Infl. 451. feeds, in wet cold feafons ; though in very wet years 



mufl not be gathered ; for if the florets are cut ofi^, 

 it will render the feeds abortive, though they may 

 fwell and grow to their ufual fize, as I have frequently 

 experienced; yet when they are broken, there will be 

 found nothing more than a fhell without any kernel. 

 And this frequently happens to be the cafe with thefe 



Stinking fl^rubby Cnicus of Sp 



.1 ■ 





ofl 



ty flowers in umbels. Chamae- 



leon niger umbellatus, flore casruleo hyacinthino. 

 C. B. P, 380, Black umbellated Chameleon with blue 

 i flower si .;■':■. * ;■ ' * • ■ 



"The firflfort grows naturally in Egypt, and in fome 

 v( cf the warm parts of Afia. I have frequently re- 

 ceived the feeds of this from the Britifh iflands in 



r 



■ America, but whether they were originally carried 

 thither, or if it grows naturally there, I could never 

 be rightly informed. It is at prefent cultivated in 

 many parts of Europe, and alfo in the Levant, from 

 ■whence great quantities of Safliower are annually im- 

 V ' ported to England, for dyeing and painting. 



/ 



the germen will rot, and never come fo forward as to 



form a fhell. 



I have been informed, that this plant was formerly 

 cultivated in the fields in feveral parts of England, 

 for the dyers ufe; and particularly in Glouceflerfliire, 

 where the com.mon people frequently gathered the 

 florets, and dried them, to put into their puddings 

 and cheefecakes, to give them a colour ; but fome by 

 ■ putting it in too great quantity, gave thc]x puddings 



a cathartic quality. 



If this plant was ever cultivated here in great quan- 

 tity, it is furprifing how it c:.me to be fo totally ne- 

 glefted, as that at prefent, there are not the leafl 



traces to be met with, in any part of England, of its 



. ever having been cultivated ; nor is the commodity 



C 9 c fcaxc« 



'-t 





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