142 CYNTHIA DANDELION.—THE DANDELION CYNTHIA. 
botanical science at that early period, the Dandelion should have 
suggested itself. How long the name Dandelion has been con- 
nected with it does not appear, though as 7rcvximon Dandalion 
it is described in Persoon’s works about 1807. But its supposed 
relationship to the Dandelion seems to have been noted by 
Gronovius, who made it 7ragopogon, which is a closely allied 
genus, and the one to which our common garden salsify belongs. 
The description which one of our earliest collectors (Clayton) 
sent to Gronovius is so illustrative of the general accuracy of 
the botanists of those days, that we may do well to refer to it here: 
He says: “The flower is large, showy, of a sulphur color, the 
stalk striate; leaves long, narrow, toothed, with soft spines set 
on the margins; the outer florets expand while the inner ones 
remain closed (see our Fig. 5), the calyx then assuming a coni- 
cal figure (see Fig. 6); seeds like the purple-lowered Tragopo- 
gon but smaller (Fig. 3),” many of these points, as we see, cor- 
responding exactly with our plate. At this early period, how- 
ever, botanical relationships were not understood as they are 
now, especially the relationships of the composite order, and our 
plant, after keing thought a 77agopogon, a Troximon, a Krigia, 
and’ //yoserts, was given a separate place of its own, as Cyzdhia, 
by David Don, in the “ New Edinburgh Philosophical Society’s 
Proceedings,” in 1829, and it has remained Cyz/hza ever since. 
Professor Gray, in his “ Manual,” says Cyzthia is “ perhaps from 
Mount Cynthus,” and Professor Wood that “Cynthia is one of 
the names of Diana.” It might be as well to explain to the 
general reader that Cynthius is one of the ancient names given 
to Apollo, and Cynthia to Diana, and that Mount Cynthus was 
dedicated to both deities, so that the derivations of these two 
authors are seen to be more in accord than they might appear, 
in the absence of this explanation. David Don, who named the 
genus, was very fond of giving classical names to plants, and 
often, as in this case, without any apparent reason for their asso- 
ciation with the genera he selected for them. While on the 
subject of names, it may be remarked that the commen name, 
