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 (Fceniculum vulgare), Dill, Aniseed, 

 etc. 



Ferula Asafmtida is a tall growing plant of Thibet and the western 

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

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

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

 Gum Opopanax,and some other gum resins are 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 maculuta, Water Hemlock, and ^ffitTtusa 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 Xanthosia, Trachymene, Astrotrichia, etc., are shrubs or small 

 trees. 



591. Cohort XXIII. Picoidales. Flowers usually actin- 

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

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

 sperm. 



Order Ficoideee. Mostly herbs, often with fleshy leaves. Species 

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

 weed (Mollugo verticittata). 



Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, 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 

 tropical. 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 

 ers, as well as on account of their curious shapes. Cereus grandi- 

 florus, the Night Blooming Cereus ; Opuntia vulgaris, the common 

 Prickly Pear ; 0. coccinellifera, 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, 



