548 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS onopoedon 



C. acanthifolia. — A stemless perennial 

 about 2 ft. high, native of S. Europe. 

 Leaves downy beneath, pinnately cut into 

 toothed angular and spiny segments. 

 Flowers in June, white or yeUow. 



Culture dtc. as above. 



C. acaulis. — A European perennial 

 about 9 in. high. Leaves pinnately cut 

 into toothed spiny segments. Flowers 

 in June, white. 



Culture dc. as above. 



C. biebersteiniana, about 2 ft. high, 

 from the Caucasus, has purple flowers in 

 August. 



Culture Sc. as above. 



CNICUS (including Champ«peuce). 

 This genus contains about 200 species of 

 annual, biennial, or perennial herbs, vnth 

 serrate or pinnately toothed and lobed 

 spiny leaves, often deourrent with the 

 stem. Involucre ovoid or globose, with 

 spiny bracts in many rows. Disc hairy. 

 Pappus deciduous, feathery. 



Culture and Propagation. — These 

 Thistle-like plants grow almost anywhere 

 in rough soil and may be used for rough 

 parts of the garden. They are easily 

 raised from seeds sown in spring in the 

 open border, or earlier in gentle heat, 

 afterwards pricking the seedlings out 

 preparatory to transferring to the open 

 air about May. The tufts may also be 

 divided in autumn or spriag. 



C. acaulis. — ^A British and European 

 perennial about 2 ft. high, with stalked 

 lance-shaped pinnately cut spiny leaves, 

 and purple flowers in summer. 



Culture Sc. as above. 



C. altissimus (Ciraitim altissimum). 

 A native of the United States 3-10 ft. 

 high, with leaves downy beneath, oblong 

 lance-shaped, toothed above, pinnately cut 

 below. Flowers in August, purple. 



Culture dc. as above. 



C. Casabonse {Chameepeuce Casa- 

 honcB). — Fishbone Thistle. — A native of 

 S. Europe 2-3 ft. high, with deep green 

 spiny leaves veined with white. Flowers 

 in summer, pale purple. 



This species and the next one {C. 

 diacantha) are very picturesque grown in 

 masses, and may be used to ornament the 

 rockery. Young plants raised from seed 

 in autumn are sometimes grown in pots 

 for conservatory decoration, owing to 

 their attractive appearance. 



Culture da. as above. 



C. Diacantha {Chamcepeuce Diaca/n- 

 tha). — A Syrian perennial 2-3 ft. high. 

 Leaves shining green, with silvery veins 

 and ivory-white spines. Flowers in sum- 

 mer, purplish, in dense spike-like clusters. 



Culture dc. as above. 



C. spinosissimus. — A European peren- 

 nial about 3 ft. high, with downy stem- 

 clasping, pinnately cut and toothed, spiny 

 leaves. Flowers from June to August^ 

 pale yeUow, in terminal clusters. 



Culture dc. as above. 



C. undulatus (O. Douglasi). — A Cali- 

 fornian perennial, 1 ft. high. Leaves 

 more or less spiny, pinnately cut, the side 

 and terminal lobes elongated. Flowers in 

 summer, purple, in corymbs, scarcely 

 rising above the leaves. 



Culture dc. as above. 



ONOPORDON (Cotton Thistle).— A 

 genus with 12 species of more or less 

 woolly annual, biennial, or perennial 

 Thistle-hke herbs. Involucre roimdish or 

 broad. Receptacle flat, fleshy. Achenes 

 smooth. 



Culture and Propagation. — ^The Cot- 

 ton Thistles have a noble appearance and 

 may be used in many ways in the border 

 or shrubbery, or for sub-tropical garden- 

 ing. They thrive in ordinary soU, and 

 may be increased by seeds sown in fairly 

 rich soU in early autumn or spring in the 

 open border. The seedlings may be 

 thinned out, leaving some to flower where 

 the seeds were sown, and transplanting 

 the others if necessary. They require to 

 be treated in the same way as biennials 

 in general (see p. 78). 



O. Acanthium. — A stately British and 

 European perennial 4-8 ft. high, with 

 woolly stems and leaves, the latter de- 

 current, more or less oblong-ovate, sinu- 

 ate-pinnatifid, spiny. Flowers from July 

 to September, purple, 1^-2 in. across, 

 with a very cobwebby involucre, and awl- 

 shaped, spiny, recurved green bracts. 



Culture dc. as above. 



O. arabicum. — A S. European biennial, 

 8-10 ft. high, with whitish woolly stems 

 and leaves, and heads of purple flowers in 

 summer. 



Culture dc. as above. 



O. illyricum (O. horridum). — A hand- 

 some biennial 6 ft. high or more, native of 

 S. Europe, and resembling 0. Acanthium 

 in appearance. Its oblong lance-shaped 



