ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF OUR GARDEN VEGETABLES. 351 



dant. At Paris the colour was rose or white; while the others were of a 

 deep violet, and some had a pronounced brown colour or were nearly 

 black, like the Alsace Navew ; but there were pretty well all colours and 

 forms * (figs. 123, 124). 



Eampion. 



Campanula Rapunculus, L., is a native of England, but considered 

 as doubtfully wild by Hooker. It occurs from Denmark southwards, 

 in N. Africa and Siberia. Whether this root was known to the ancients 

 is not certain. Dodoens (1559) says the Greek name was Gongule 



Fig. 123. — Long Form of Eadish raised by M. Carriers from the 

 Wild Eadish. 



agria, but this could hardly mean anything else than the wild turnip, 

 or probably a degenerate form of the garden turnip, as the name 

 implies a round " root. Aristophanes uses the word gongulis, but 

 the plant cannot now be identified. In the sixteenth century we find 

 two distinct plants called Eampion : one was known as the greater 

 Rapuntium, now recognized as Phyteuma spicata, L., and the smaller 

 was Rapuntium parvum. This is the true rampion, Campanula 

 Rapunculus, L. Their use was described as being especially service- 

 able in salads, being boiled and eaten with oil, vinegar, and pepper. 



* Origine des Plantes Domestiques demontree ijar la Culture du Badis 

 Sauvage, 1869. 



a A 2 



