SYNGENESIA— POLYGAMIA-.EQU. Ciiicus. 395 



prickles ; minutely hairy or downy above 5 loosely cottony, but 

 not very white, beneath j radical ones several, stalked, erect ; 

 those on the stem few, small, clasping at the base. Fl. smaller, 

 and of a paler ])urple than the preceding. Cal. loosely clothed 

 with cobweb-like down j its outer scales obscurely ribbed, ovate, 

 tapering to a spinous point ; inner long and narrow, coloured, 

 taper-pointed, scarcely spinous. Seed-doicn feathery, with sim- 

 ple tips. 

 The variety (3, as far as can be judged from its short description, 

 appears rather to belong to this species than to C. pcdustris, un- 

 der which it is placed in Fl. Brit. Plukenet found this plant in 

 the isle of Ely, and Dillenius appears not to have seen a spe- 

 cimen. 



9. C. acauUs. Dwarf Plume-thistle, 



Stalks radical, single-flowered, shorter than the smooth 

 calyx. 



C. acaulis. Willcl Sp. PL v. 3. 1 681. Comp. ed. 4. 134. Hook. Scot. 

 237. 



Carduus acaulis. Linn. Sp. PI. 1 1 5G. Fl. Br. 855. Engl. Bot. v. 3. 

 t.]6l. Jacq.Ic. Rar.t.579. Fl. Dan. t.\l\4. 



Cirsium n. 1 /8. Hall. Hist. v. 1. 77. 



Carlina acaulis, minore purpureo flore. Rail Sijn. 195. 



C, acaulos minor, flore purpureo. Ger. Em. 1 158./. 



C. minor purpureo flore. Clus. Hist. v. 2. 156. 



C. montana minor acaulos. Barrel. Ic. t.493. 



Chamaeleon exiguus. Trag. Hist. 852./. Bauh. Hist. v. 3. p. 1. 

 62./. 63. 



Dwarf Thistle. Petiv. H. Brit. t.2].f.6. 



In pastures and meadows, on a gravelly or chalky soil. 



Too abundant in many fields and upland grounds in Dorsetshire, 

 Dr. Pnlteneij. \'ery frequent on commons in Norfolk and se- 

 veral other counties. In the time of Gerarde it grew on Black- 

 heath, 



Perennial. July, August. 



Root woody, stout, blackish, simple, running deep Into the ground. 

 Stem entirely wanting. Leaves several, spreading close to the 

 ground, in a circle near a foot in diameter, choking all other 

 herbage, stalked, pinnatifid, bright green, smooth ; their seg- 

 ments somewhat palmate, abundantly prickly. Fl. one or more, 

 either quite sessile, or on short, simple, downy stalks, of a fine 

 crimson, as large as those of Cnicus lanceolatus. Cal. ovate, 

 green, without any web or hairs, but the scales are a little downy 

 at the edges. Seed-down feathery. 



When cultivated in the fertile soil of a garden, this plant, like 

 Carlina acaulis, and several of the next genus, acquires a slcm, 

 3 or 4 inches in height^ bearing 3 or AJiov:eis. 



