XXIV. 



CENTAURIA CYANUS. 



Common Blue-Bottle. 



Class XIX. vSyngenesia. — Order III. Polygamia 



Frustranea. 

 Nat. Orel. Composite. 



Gen. Char. Involucre scaly. Receptacle bristly. Pappus 

 simple, or none. Corollas of the ray funnel-shaped, 

 irregular, longer than those of the disk. 



Spec. Char. Scales of the involucre seiTated. Leaves 

 linear, entire, the lowermost toothed. 



SYNONYMES. 



r Cyanus segetum flore ccEruleo. Banh. Pin. 273. 

 l^„tln 3 Cyanus vulgaris. Ger. Em. 732. 



I Cyanus. Rati Syn. 198. 



^Centaurea Cyanus. Lin. Sp. PL, 1289. 

 French.... Bluet; Aubifoin ; Casselunette ; Barbeau. 

 Italian .... Ciano. 

 Spanish . . . Ciano. 

 German .. . . Kornblume. 



Dutch Kornbluem. 



Belgic .... Koorn-bloemen ; Rogge-bloemen. 



Description. — The root is annual, rather woody, and fibrous. 

 The stems are slender, branched, striated, covered v.ith a loose 

 cottony down, and attain the height of two or three feet. The 

 leaves are alternate, long, straight, of a light green colour, 

 somewhat cottony, especially beneath ; the lower ones are 

 generally toothed towards the base ; the upper ones are linear 

 and entire. The flowers are terminal, capitate, tubular, and 

 five-toothed ; the receptacle bristly ; the involucre imbricated 

 with scales of a greenish colour, their margin purple, ciliated and 

 serrated. The florets of the circumference or ray are large, 



