394 SYNGENESIA— POLYGAMIA-^QU. Cnicus. 



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

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

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

 and of a paler purple than the preceding. Cal. loosely clothed 

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

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

 taper-pointed, scarcely spinous. Seed-down 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. palustris, 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. acaulis. Dwarf Plume- thistle. 



Stalks radical, single-flowered, shorter than the smooth 



calyx. 

 C. acaulis. WiM.Sp.Fl.v.ZA^'^X. Cowzp. eJ. 4. 134. Hook. Scot. 



237. 

 Carduus acaulis, Linn. Sp. PI. 115G. Fl. Br. 855. Engl. Bot.v.3. 



t.\6\. Jacq.Ic.Rar.t.579. Fl. Dan. t.\ 114. 

 Cirsium n. 178. Hall. Hist. v. 1. 77. 

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

 C. acaulos minor, flore purpureo. Ger. Em. 1158./. 

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

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

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



62./ 63. 

 Dwarf Thistle. Petiv. H. Brit. t. 21./ 6. 



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



Too abundant in many fields and upland grounds in Dorsetshire. 

 Dr. Pulteney. Very frequent on commons in Norfolk and se- 

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

 heath. C>li}V(n\ DoTi'Txo 



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 stem, 

 3 or 4 inchG,'> in height, bearing 3 or AJlowers. 



