CNlCUS. 



nosa Lam.fl.fr. ii. 35. — South of Europe, the Levant, Persia ; 

 introduced into Chili. 



An annual branched woolly plant. Leaves amplexicaul, somewhat 

 decurrent, nearly entire, pinnated or deeply pinnatifid, more or less 

 hairy. Heads terminal, bracteate. Florets yellow. — Once much used 

 as a febrifuge ; although now neglected Mr. Burnett says that its pro- 

 perties are such as to lead to a belief that it has been superseded by 

 other not more efficacious remedies. 



CICHORACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 251. 



LACTUCA. 



Involucre cylindrical, imbricated, with the scales membranous 

 at the margin, few-flowered. Receptacle naked. Achaenium 

 compressed, wingless, with a long filiform beak. Pappus hair- 

 like, in several rows. 



959. L. virosa Linn.sp.pl. 1119. Eng. JBot. t. 1957. Woodv. 

 t. 250. Smith Eng. Ft. iii. 345. — Hedges, old walls, ruins, 

 and the skirts of fields in Europe. 



The root is tap-shaped. Stem solitary, 2 or 3 feet high, erect, round, 

 smooth, sparingly leafy, scarcely branched ; panicled at the top ; a little 

 prickly below. Leaves horizontal, nearly smooth, finely toothed; 

 radical ones numerous, obovate, undivided, depressed ; those of the 

 stem smaller, often lobed ; arrow-shaped and clasping at their base ; 

 the midrib of all more or less beset underneath with prominent prickles ; 

 such as often occur on the margin also. Flower-heads numerous, 

 panicled, with abundance of small, heart-shaped, pointed bracteas. In- 

 volucral scales downy at the tip, destitute of any keels or ribs. Corolla 

 small, light yellow. Pappus rough. Smith. — The milky juice when 

 inspissated has been used as a substitute for opium. 



960. L. sativa L., the common Lettuce, yields a milk which 

 when inspissated resembles opium in appearance, smell, and 

 effects. It has been said to procure calm and sleep, without 

 some of the ill effects of opium. The drug is called officinally 

 Thridace, Lettuce opium, or Lactucarium. 



TARAXACUM. 



Heads many-flowered. Involucral scales in 2 rows ; the in- 

 nermost linear and parallel, the outer shorter, spreading or re- 

 flexed. Receptacle naked, convex, dotted. Achaenium round 

 or angular, wingless, with a long beak, which is very slender, 

 brittle, cylindrical, and furnished at the base with toothlike 

 tubercles. Pappus hairlike, very soft, in many rows. 

 469 h h 3 



