520 BOTANY. 



as a salad. The poisonous herbage, when deprived of its green color by 

 covering with earth, is rendered wholesome. 



Among the aromatic and medicinal products may be mentioned Cara- 

 way, Coriander, Cummin, Fennel (Fwniculum vulgare), Dill, Aniseed, 

 etc. 



Fei-ula Asafatida is a tall growing plant of Thibet and the western 

 parts of Asia. The dried atid hardened milky juice of the root is the 

 nauseous smelling Gum Asatetida. It is said that the Persians hold 

 it in high esteem as a condiment. Gum Ammoniacum,GumGalbanum, 

 Gum Opopanax,and some other gum rcsinsare similar strong smelling 

 products of other plants of the same region. 



Conium maculatum, Poison Hemlock, a native of Europe, but 

 naturalized in the United States, is virulently poisonous. It is sup- 

 posed to be the Hemlock used by the Greeks to poison their criminals 

 and other offenders. 



Cicuta maculata, Water Hemlock, and ^Ethtisa Cynapium, Fool's 

 Parsley, are two common poisonous plants, the first a native of the 

 Eastern United States, the second introduced from Europe. 



Monizia edulis, of the Madeiras, is a low tree, and in Australia spe- 

 cies of Xantfiosia, Traehymene, Astrotrichia, etc., are shrubs or small 

 trees. 



591. Cohort XXTEI. Ficoidales. Flowers usually actin- 

 omorphic ; ovary mostly inferior, one- to many-celled ; pla- 

 centae parietal, basilar or axile ; seeds with or without endo- 

 sperm. 



Order Ficoidese. Mostly herbs, often with fleshy leaves. Specie* 

 450, mostly tropical, represented in the United States by the Carpet- 

 weed (Mottugo verticillata). 



Mesembryanthemum crystattinum, the Ice Plant, is commonly culti- 

 vated as a curiosity. 



Order Cactaceae. The Cactus Family. Succulent herbs, shrubs, 

 or trees, often spiny, and generally leafless. About 1000 species are 

 enumerated, all American (with one or two exceptions), and mostly 

 trojiical. Several of the species are common in many parts of the Old 

 World, having long since escaped from cultivation. 



Many of the species are grown in conservatories for their fine flow 

 ei>, as well as on account of their curious shapes Cereus grandi- 

 florm, the Night Blooming Cereus ; Opu/itia mdgaris, the common 

 Prickly Pear ; 0. coccineUifera, and others, are common. The last- 

 named is fed upon by the Cochineal Insect, from which the dye Carmine 

 is derived. 



The fleshy fruits of some species are edible. 



592.-Cohort XXIV. Passiflorales. Flowers usually ac- 

 tinomorphic ; ovary usually inferior, syncarpous, one-celled, 



