244 



CARDIANDBA 



CAREX 



petiole, coarsely serrate, sparsely pilose, membrana- 

 ceous, 3-7 in. long : fls. white, tinged red. Summer. 

 S Z. 66, 67. ALFRED REHDEB. 



CARDINAL FLOWER. Lobelia cardinalis. 



359. Balloon Vine 



Card ios perm um Halicacabum. 



CARDIOSPERMUM (Greek, heart-seed, from the 

 white heart-shaped spot on the round black seed ; hence 

 the plant was thought a cure for heart diseases). Sa- 

 pind&cece. Thirty tropical American species of climbing 

 herbs, with alternate, biternate Ivs., coarsely serrate 

 Ifts., and small white fls. in axillary racemes or corymbs. 

 The most popular is the interesting Balloon Vine, which 

 is a rapid-growing, tender annual, curious for its in- 

 flated seed-vessels. 



Halicacabum, Linn. Fig. 359. Height, 10 ft.: stem 

 and branches grooved: balloons an inch or more thick. 

 E. and W. Indies. B.M. 1049. -A general favorite, es- 

 pecially with children. W. M. 



CARDOON (Cyntira Carduncvlus,Lmn.). A thistle- 

 like plant of southern Europe, cult, for the thick leaf- 

 stalk and midrib. It is thought to be of the same spe- 

 cies as the artichoke, and to have been developed from 

 it by long cultivation and selection. The plant has been 

 introduced into South America, and has run wild exten- 

 sively on the pampas. Darwin writes that "no culti- 

 vated plant has run wild on so enormous a scale as the 

 Cardoon." From the artichoke it differs in talter and 

 more prickly growth and smaller heads. The Cardoon 

 is perennial, but it is not hardy, and is treated as an 

 annual. Seeds are sown in spring, either in pots under 

 glass or in the open where the plants are to stand. 

 The later sowing is usually preferred. The plants are 

 given rich soil and should have abundant moisture sup- 

 ply, for they must make continuous and strong growth. 

 When the leaves are nearly full grown, they are tied to- 

 gether near the top, straw is piled around the head, and 

 earth is banked against it. This is to blanch the plant, 

 for it is inedible unless so treated. From two to four 

 weeks is required for the blanching. The procedure is 

 not very unlike that adopted for the blanching of celery 

 or endive. If the plants are late, they may be dug just 

 before frost and blanched in a storage pit. The plants 

 are usually grown from 2-3 ft. apart in rows which are 

 4 ft. apart. They are sometimes grown in trenches, after 

 the old manner of growing celery. Cardoon is almost 

 unknown in America, except amongst foreigners. 



L. H. B. 



CARDUUS. For C. benedictus, see Carbenia. 



CAREX (name of obscure origin). Cyperclcece. 

 SEDGE. Hundreds of grass-like plants in temperate cli- 

 mates. Fls. unisexual, in spikes, the staminate naked 

 and subtended by a bract or scale, the pistillate com- 

 prising a single pistil enclosed in a thin sac or perigyn- 

 ium. The two sexes may be in the same or separate 

 spikes ; and rarely they are on different plants (plant 

 dioecious ) . Carices are very abundant in cool temperate 

 regions, both in species and in individual plants. Many 

 of them grow on dry land, but the largest species grow 

 in low grounds and swales, and often form much of the 

 bulk of bog hay (Fig. 360). The species are very diffi- 

 cult to distinguish because they are very similar, and 

 the study of them is usually left to specialists. Some of 

 our broad-leaved native species make excellent borders 

 and interesting clumps in corners about buildings and 

 along walls. Many of the lowland species are excellent 

 adjuncts to the pond of hardy aquatics. Others have 

 very graceful forms, with drooping spikes and slender 

 culms ( Fig. 361 ) . The following native species have been 

 offered by collectors : aurea, ebiirnea, flara, Grayi, 

 hystricina, lupulina and its var. pedunculata, lurida, 

 Magellanica, Pennsylvanica, plantaginea, Pseudo-Cy- 

 perus, retrorsa, Hichardsoni, riparia, Tuckermani t 

 utriculata, vulpinoidea. The following species are in 

 the Amer. trade : 



362. Carex Morrowi. 



Mdrrowi, Boott. (C. Jap6nica, Hort., not Thunb. 

 C. tenuissima, Hort. C. acutifblia, Hort.). Fig. 362. 



