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. Bamadesia, Mutisia, Onoseris, Ghuquiraijua, 

 Dicoma, AinsUea, Ghcetanthera, Trichocline, Gerhera, Ghaptalia, Leucaeria, Perezia, Trixis, Jungia, 

 Nassauvia, &c. 



Tkibe XIII. CiCHORACE^. — Heads homogamous ; flowers equal or sub-rayed. Involucre 

 various. Receptacle with deciduous paleae or 0. Corollas all ligulate, truncate and 6-toothed 

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

 setose, paleaceous, or 0. — Juice usually mill^. Gatamanche, Cichorium, Microseris, Tolpis, Picris, 

 Grepis, Hiertbcimn, HypoeJiceris, Leontodon, Taraxacum, Lactuca, Prenanihes, Sonchus, Micro- 

 rhynohus, Tragopogon, Scorzonera,, Soolymus, &c, — Ed.] 



Composifts, 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 terra 

 order has been retained for them . C'ompositee are allied to Calycerea, Dipsacete, VaUrianete, Campanulaceee, 

 Brunoniace(s (see these families). 



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

 species-; those with herbaceous stems grow in temperate and cold climates. The Tubulifloree are 

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

 Lahiatifloj-ts are chiefly natives of extra-tropical South America. 



The rayed Tubuliflorm 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 propertiq^some 

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

 Artemisia (Wormwood, Southernwood, Tarragon, ' Q^nipi ') owe to their aroma and bitterness decidedly 

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

 common Tansy and the Balsamite (Pyrethrum Tanacetum) 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 liupatorium greatly esteemed in South America as a powerful 

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

 most celebrated are the Guaco and the Herha-di-cobra, tropical American species of a genus near Eupatm-ium. 

 The TMS^'/ajfo (Colt's-foot), and the Qnaphalium dioivitm contain a guinmy matter, united with a bitter 

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

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

 Artichoke {Helianthu^ iuhei'osus), a perennial Brazilian plant cultivated throughout Europe, contain a 

 principle analogous to starch (inuline), and a large proportion of unerystallizable 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 sativa and mellosa, 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 Guizotia oleifera, a plant cultivated 

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



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

 and sudorific in others. As such are employed the Burdocks, the Milk Thistle {Silyhum Mariammi), 

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

 which an eye-water was formerly distilled. Some Carduacem 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. 



