e* KOKTUS JAMAICENSf?: ARTicKeKB 



"^I'lic floweiN stand on footstalks at tlie tops of the branches, iikc those of orclijiain- ars- 

 nr.irt, hut more hix and slender, followed bj- sniall sliining black seeds in green husks, 

 seed.< an^idiir, witli two 2)ricki_y eiid>. It frrows in moist and muddy places. Sioanc. 



See Buckwheat. 



ARTICHOKE. CYXARA. 



Cl.. 1.9, Olt. 1. S_yugenesia polygamia (rqualis. Nat. on. Compesitee. 



This generic name is said by sonic to be derived from the word ciiierc, becanse, ar?- 

 ^'ording to Columella, land for artichokes should be manured wkh ashes. Parkinson 

 says, it is so calletl from the ash-coloured hue of the leaves. 



Gen. CHAR: -'Calyx oonimon ventricose inibricate,tvith nurrierous scales ; corolla com- 

 pouiid tuhu'ons, niiiforni eoroJlets heniwjjhrBdite, nearlveciual, proper, one-pe- 

 talled : stamina five-fi'a?nei>ts, very short ; anther -cylindric, five-to(jthed ; gir- 

 men ovate, style filiform, .stigma simple; no pericarpium ; seeds solitary, ob- 

 long-ovate ; down sessile, long ; receptacle bristly. There ai'e six species, two 

 only culti%-atedfor use, the cafdunculus or cardoon, and the 



SCOLYMUS. 



Leaves somewhat spiny, pinnate and undivided ; calycine scales ovate. 



This is the common garden artichoke, of which there are two varieties. 1. Theco- 

 ftical green headed French artichoke, having small leaves, terminated by spines, a tall 

 stalk ; the head somewhat conical, and of a light green colour, with the scales pointed 

 fit top, opening and turning outward. 2. The globular headed red Dutch artichoke, 

 having leaves without spines, a strong stalk, the head large, globular, a little com- 

 pressed at top, and of a reddish green colour ; broad obtuse scales emarginated at top, 

 growing ciose, and turning inward. This last , is deservedly the most esteemed, both 

 on account of its superiority in size, and the agreeableness of its flavour. The Hout-rs 

 and seed of all tlie plants of this genus are produced in the centre of the head ; the 

 scales of which are the proper calyx of the flower, which consists of numerous small 

 blueish florets, succeeded by downy seeds sitting nAked on the receptacle. Both the 

 varieties are propagated by slips or suckers, and thrive very vveii in rich land, and high 

 cold situations in Jamaica. Very fine -ones may often be met with in the Kingston 

 market, the produce ef Port Royal, Liguanea, and St. David's, mountains. The 

 ground where they are planted should be well duo-, freed from weeds, and so thrown 

 up as to prevent water lodging about the roots. It is best to leave only one shoot and 

 head to each root ; by which means the artichokes will be much finer and larger. 



The artichoke is a native of the soutiiem parts of Europe. The receptacles or bot- 

 toms of the heads, and the fleshy parts of the scales, are usually eaten, and though 

 thought by Galen to generate bile and melancholy, are wholesome and nutritious. 

 The leaves are bitter, and afford, bj' expression, a considerable quantity of juice, which, 

 when strained and mixed with an equal part of white wine, has been given successfully 

 in dropsies ; for this purpose, two or three spoonfuls of the mixture are to be taken 

 night and morning. An infusion of the leaves are likewise diuretic, and may be em 

 ployed with the same intention, JVoodville''s Medical Botany, p. 69, pi. 28. 



. See Cardoon. 



ASPARAGUS, 



