DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANTS 167 



one, sometimes two, three or more round green rough hairy straked 

 stalks, commonly about twelve foot high, sometimes sixteene foot 

 high or higher, as big as a childs arme, full of white spungious pith 

 within. The leaves grow all alongst the stalkes out of order, of 

 a light green color, rough, sharp pointed, about eight inches broad, 

 and ten or eleven inches long, deeply notched or indented about 

 the edges, very like the leaves of the common flos solis Pervanus, 

 but nothing crompled, and not so broad. The stalkes divide them- 

 selves into many long branches even from the roots to their very 

 tops, bearing leaves smaller and smaller toward the tops, makinge 

 the herbe appeare like a little tree, narrower and slenderer toward 

 the top, in fashion of a steeple or Pyramide. The flowers with us 

 grow onely at the toppes of the stalkes and branches, like those of 

 the said flos solis, but no bigger than our common single Marigold, 

 consisting of twelve or thirteene straked sharpe pointed bright 

 yellow bordering leaves, growing foorth of a scaly small hairie 

 head, with a small yellow thrummie matter within. These flowers 

 by reason of their late flowering, which is commonly two or three 

 weeks after Michaelmas, never bring their seed to perfection, & it 

 maketh shew of abundance of small heads neere the tops of the 

 stalkes and branches forth of the bosomes of the leaves, which 

 never open and flower with us, by reason they are destroyed with 

 the frosts, which otherwise it seemes would be a goodly spectacle. 

 The stalke sendes foorth many small creeping roots, whereby it is 

 fed or nourished, full of hairie threddes even from the upper part 

 of the earth, spreading farre abroad: amongst which from the 

 maine root grow forth many tuberous roots, clustering together, 

 sometimes fastened to the great root it selfe, sometimes growing on 

 long strings a foot or more from the root, raising or heaving up 

 the earth above them, and sometimes appearing above the earth, 

 producing from the increase of one root, thirty, forty, or fifty in 

 number, or more, making in all usually above a pecke, many times 

 neere halfe a bushell, if the soile be good. These tuberous roots 

 are of a reddish colour without, of a soft white substance within, 

 bunched or bumped out many waies, sometimes as big as a mans 

 fist, or not so big, with white noses or peaks where they will sprout 

 or grow the next yeare. The stalkes bowed downe, and some part 

 of them covered over with earth, send forth smal creeping threddie 

 roots, and also tuberous roots like the former, which I have found 

 by experience. These tuberous roots will abide alive in the earth 

 all winter, though the stalkes and rootes by the which they were 

 nourished utterly rot and perish away, and will beginne to spring 



