CARROT OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 95 



them yield gum like that of galbanum, wMch. possesses medi- 

 cinal properties, especially the species named by the early Greek 

 writers Silphinm, which produced the " Laser Cyrenaicum/' so 

 famed by the ancient Cyrenians as to be considered worth its 

 weight in gold, and the figures of the plant to be worthy of 

 being represented on their coins. In order to endeavour to 

 identify the " Silphium," the late Mr. Kcenig, Keeper of the 

 Coins in the British Museum, about thirty -five years ago, 

 obtained a plant direct from the country of Gyrene, which was 

 supposed to be the true plant; it was sent to the Eoyal Gardens, 

 Kew, but, unfortunately, it did not live long, the soil in which 

 it grew having become saturated with salt water during the 

 voyage, but the few radical leaves that were still fresh on its 

 arrival were sufficient to enable me to determine it to be a 

 closely-allied species (if not the same) as Ferula {Fhapsia) 

 glauca or F. garganica ; with regard to the latter species it is 

 recorded to be common in Southern Europe as also in Algeria, 

 and is regarded by the natives as a specific against complaints 

 of all kinds. To camels it is a deadly poison. 



Carrot, Peruvian {Arracaclm esculmta), a perennial herb of 

 the Umbel family ; it attains a height of 2 or 3 feet. It has 

 divided leaves like the Carrot, and small umbels of purple 

 flowers, and has large fleshy roots, which form an important 

 article of food in the above and other countries of Southern and 

 Central America. About fifty years ago a packet of its roots 

 was received at Kew for the purpose of ascertaining whether it 

 would be a plant capable of being cultivated in this coimtry, but 

 it did not succeed ; the summer heat was not sufficient to bring 

 it to maturity. 



Carrot Tree {Monizia eduHs), a curious plant, being one of 

 the few caulescent examples of the Carrot family (UmbelHfer^). 

 The stems of young plants look like carrots or parsnips inverted 

 above ground, but in old plants they attain a diameter of 6 

 inches at the base, tapering upwards and attaining the height of 

 from 4 to 6 feet, terminating with a crown of decompound 

 spreading leaves, having the aspect of a tree-fern. It is a native 



