AND GENERA OF PLANTS. 421 
plumose; achenium smooth andeven. ‘The inner divisions of the involucrum, and, in fact, the 
whole aspect of our plant is very similar to that of Echenais carlinoides, which is also a true 
Circium, without any vestige of generic character, or even habit, to separate it; for, on examining 
the fruit when mature, I find it smooth and even, without any striatures whatever. 
Circium * megacanthum; glabrous, robust and gigantic; capituli round, ag- 
gregated in clusters towards the summit of the stem; leaves deeply pinnatifid 
and somewhat decurrent, segments lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, terminating 
in stout spines nearly their length, the margin ciliate-serrate; capituli bracteo- 
late, involucrate, the bractes and upper leaves exceedingly spiny; scales of the 
involucrum lanceolate, acuminate, erect, acicularly terminated; pappus very 
long. 
Has. On the banks of the Misaliatipi.' in the vicinity of New Orleans. Found by Mr. Litile 
and myself. Its measurements, according to Mr. Little, are three to six feet high. Stem two 
inches in diameter, at base; the largess seedy one foot four inches long: (a specimen from the 
Bayou Road.) The] hnoid along the mid-rib. The larger spines 
are nearly an inch long, and as stout as ecévee saeteg needles. The clusters of capituli may be 
from ten to twenty, about three inches wide, when largest; the sepals terminated with mere acicular 
points. Pappus plumose, near one and a quarter inches long, white; tube of the floret twice as 
long as the nearly equal border; anthers caudate, the appendage deeply cleft; cusps acuminate, 
Resembles at first glance C. spinosissimum, but it is much larger, and wholly distinct. The seg- 
ments of the leaves are long and narrow. One of the most terribly armed plants in the genus. 
§. vi. ONOTROPHE. (Cassini.) 
Circium *brevifolium; stem slender, subterete, and, as well as the under 
surface of the leaves, whitely tomentose; leaves oblong-lanceolate, amplexi- 
caule, sinuately pinnatifid, with shallow, simple, or bifid lobes, ending in spines 
and spinose serratures; involucrum ovate, naked; scales lanceolate, sh it 
smooth, terminating in small, erect spines. 
Has. In the Rocky Mountain plains. Allied to C. Virginianum; but the leaves more divided 
and far more tomentose, as well as the stem; the capitulum very similar. Stem terminating in two 
or three capituli. Florets ochroleucous, unequally cleft. Anthers lacerately caudate. Pappus 
plumose, with slender tips. Leaves about half an inch wide, two to three inches long, nearly 
smooth, and green above. 
