120 PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



SONCHUS. L. 17. 1. 



Name derived from the Greek, for soft or hollow^ as the plants 

 have a soft and feeble as well as hollow stem. 

 Four species are found in the State. 



S. oleraceus. L. Sow Thistle. Grows in gardens and waste 

 grounds about houses and barns ; about 3 feet high, smooth, brit- 

 tle, easily crushed, with clasping leaves, runcinate, and with spiny 

 teeth ; a late plant, flowers in August and September. Has prop- 

 erties similar to Dandehon ; eaten by rabbits, but rejected by 

 most animals ; odor unpleasant. Introduced from Britain. 



/S. leucophceus. L. A similar plant. 



S. acuminatus. W. Has small, numerous, blue flowers ; on 

 low grounds, and rare ; August. 



<S. spinulosus. Big. Prickly Sea Thistle. Grows about 

 salt marshes, 2 feet high ; lobes of leaves curl backwards, and clasp 

 the stem, and have edges waved ; flowers somewhat umbel-form, 

 yellow ; August. 



At the South, another species, there indigenous, >S. Floridanus, 

 W., is used as a remedy for the poison of the rattlesnake, and is 

 called Gall of the Earth. Pursh. 



Tragopogon. W. 17. 1. 



T. porrifolium. W. Vegetable Oyster, or Goat's Beard. 

 The genus is named from the Greek, for GoaVs Beard, on ac- 

 count of the long, hairy beard of the seeds, and the species from 

 the resemblance of the leaf of the young plant to that of the leek 

 or onion ; introduced from England, and cultivated for its roots, 

 which, prepared in certain modes, have the odor and flavor of the 

 oyster. On the continent of Europe, the long tapering roots are 

 used for food, like the parsnip. It is sown in the spring, and the 

 roots are used in the following winter and spring ; blossoms the 

 second season. The plants, from the self-sown seeds of August, 

 blossom the next season. 



