ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, VI. iv. 3-4 



are thistle-like, 1 by which 2 I mean that the swollen 

 part, that part which contains the flower, or, it may 

 be, the fruit, is in all cases a thistle-head, 3 or has 

 that appearance. However there are differences in 

 the ' head ' itself, in size shape colour number ot 

 spines and in other respects. For, apart from quite 

 a few plants, such as soap- wort sow r -thistle and 

 possibly some others, nearly all the rest have this 

 character (even sow-thistle 4 has a spinous character, 

 but its seed-process is different). The list includes 

 all the following : akorna 5 milk-thistle khalkeios 

 safflower polyakanthos distaff-thistle onopyxos ixine 

 chamaeleon (the last-named, however, has not spinous 

 leaves, though golden thistle, which is also called 

 'meadow-thistle,' 6 has 7 ), and so on, for there are 

 many more. These differ from one another not only 

 in the aforesaid ways, but in that some of them 

 have many stalks and side-growths, like the pine- 

 thistle, while some have a single stalk and no side- 

 growths, like the safflower, and some again have 

 out-growths above from the top of the plant, like 

 the globe-thistle. 8 Again some grow directly the 

 first rains come, others at a later time, some again in 

 summer, as the plant which some call yellow star- 

 thistle, and ixine. g So too 10 the flowering-time differs : 

 golden thistle blooms late n and is in bloom for a 

 long time. ' 



Plin. 22. 86 ; favXet/uwvia. UMj ; rjAuAet/iwi/io M 2 Ald. KO.\ 

 Aej/.ia>m'a conj. W. But \6i/j.uvia is not mentioned again in 

 the following description, which is against its being a 

 distinct plant from ffit6\v/j.os. 



7 <pv\\a.KavOos I conj.; <f>v\\dicavOa MSS. 



8 pvrpos : rhutnim (I ; but E'lin. I.e. has eryngen. 



9 Plin. 22. 23. 10 KO.\ M conj. Sch.; /ecu r) eVl Ald.H. 



11 otyiavOris conj. Bod. from Plin. i.e. floret sero et din ; 

 evavdris Aid. 



25 



