CXXII. COMPOSITE. 505 



bracts usually oo -seriate, unarmed, rarely spinous. Receptacle rarely paleaceous. Corolla 

 bilabiate or limb deeply 5-fid. Anther-cells usually without tails. Style-arms (very short or 

 very long) rounded or truncate, inappendiculate. Achenes various ; pappus setose, paleaceous, 

 or 0. Leaves radical or alternate, rarely opposite. Sarnadesia, Mutisia, Onvseris, Chuquirayua, 

 Dlcoma, Ainsliea, Chcetanthera, Trichocline, Gerlera, Chaptalia, Leucccria, Perezia, Trixis, Jungia, 

 Nassauvia, &c. 



TRIBE XIII. CICHOEACE^B. Heads homogamous ; flowers equal or sub-rayed. Involucre 

 various. Receptacle with deciduous paleae or 0. Corollas all ligulate, truncate and 5-toothed 

 at the tip. Anther-cells with short tails or 0. Style-arms slender. Achenes various ; pappus 

 setose, paleaceous, or 0. Juice usually milky. Catananche, Cichorium, Microseris, Tulpis, Picris, 

 Crepis, Hieracium, Hypochceris, Leontodon, Taraxacum, Lactuca, Prenanthes, Sonchus, Micro- 

 rhynchus, Tragopogon, Scorzonera, Scolymus, &c.. ED.] 



Composites, of which about 10,000 species are known, form the tenth part of Cotyledonous plants, and 

 ought perhaps rather to form a class than an order ; nevertheless, the type which they present is so well 

 characterized, that, in spite of their enormous numerical superiority over other natural groups, the term 

 order has heen retained for them. Composite are allied to Calycerece, Dipsacece, Valerianecs, Campanulacece, 

 Brunoniacece (see these families). 



Composite chiefly inhabit temperate and hot regions. America produces the largest number of 

 species; those with herbaceous stems grow in temperate and cold climates. The Tubuli/lorce are 

 most numerous in the tropics; the Liyuliflora in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere; the 

 Labiatrftorce are chiefly natives of extra-tropical South America. 



The rayed Tiibuliflorce contain a bitter principle, which is usually combined with a resin or a volatile 

 oil, according to the proportions of which certain species possess different medicinal properties; some 

 being tonic, others excitant, or stimulant, or astringent. Many indigenous species of the large genus 

 Artemisia (Wormwood, Southernwood, Tarragon, ' Genipi ') owe to their aroma and bitterness decidedly 

 stimulating properties. [From Achillea moschata the liqueur called Iva is made in the Engadin.] The 

 common Tansy and the Balsamite (Pyrethrum Tanacetwn) are also stimulants. The Camomiles contain 

 an acrid or bitter volatile oil, which renders them antispasmodics and febrifuges. Pyrethrum, a Mediter- 

 ranean Anacyclus, contains a re.-in and a very acrid volatile oil in its root, which lead to its employment in 

 diseases of the teeth and gums; the ' Spilanthes,' or Para Cress, of tropical America, is an excellent cure 

 for toothache. The flowers of Arnica and the root of Elecampane (Inula Helenium) are used as stimulants 

 of the action of the skin. The Ayapana is a Eupatorium greatly esteemed in South America as a powerful 

 sudorific and a sovereign remedy against snake-bites. Of all alexiipharmics (snake-bite antidotes) the 

 most celebrated are the Guaco and the Iferba-di-cobra, tropical American species of a genus near Eupatorium. 

 The Tussilago (Colt's-foot), and the Gnaphalium diaicum contain a gummy matter, united with a bitter 

 and slightly astringent principle, which gives them sedative qualities ; their capitula are therefore com- 

 monly employed as bechics under the name of Pectoral Flowers. The abundant tubercles of the Jerusalem 

 Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), a perennial Brazilian plant cultivated throughout Europe, contain a 

 principle analogous to starch (inuline), and a large proportion of uncrystallizable sugar. These tubercles 

 furnish good food for cattle, and even for man, when cooked and seasoned. Some other rayed species are 

 oleaginous and employed in commerce ; the Madia sntiva and mettosa, Chili plants, furnish an oil which 

 many travellers declare to be preferable in taste to olive oil ; it is distinguished from the latter, as well as 

 from most fixed oils, by its solubility in alcohol. The seeds of the Gnizotia oleifera, a plant cultivated 

 in India and Abyssinia, yield an oil used for food and burning. 



The Discoid Tubuliflvra (or Carduaceee) contain a bitter principle, which is stimulating in some, diuretic 

 and sudorific in others. As such are employed the Burdocks, the Milk Thistle (Silybum Marianum), 

 and the Blessed Thistle, a species of Centdurea, to which genus also the Cornflower belongs, from 

 which an eye-water was formerly distilled. Some Carduacecs are edible when young; the flowers and 

 leaves of some yield a dye ; many have oleaginous seeds ; none possess volatile oils. Atractylis gummifera, 

 an exotic Carduacea, near Centaurea, contains a poisonous principle. 



