( 273 .) 
ONOPORDUM* * 
Linn.Class Sf Order. Syngene'sia t,PoLYGA'MiA, .EqualisJ* 
Natural Order. CoMPO'siTAi§ ; tribe, Cynarocephal.e, Juss • 
— Lindl. syn. pp. 140 & 152 ; lntrod. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. pp. 197 
and 200 . — Compo'sit.e; subord. Cardua'cea? ; Loud. Hort. Brit, 
pp. 520 and 521 . — Synanthe're.e ; tribe, Cynarocephalae ; 
Rich, by Macgilliv. pp. 454 and 455 . — Cinarocephal.e, sect. 1. 
Juss. Gen. PI. pp. 171 and 172. — Sm. Gram, of Bot. p. 121.; Engl. 
FI. v. iii.p. 334 . — Svringales ; type, Cynaraceas ; Burn. Outl. 
of Bot. pp. 900 and 931 . — Compo'sita:, Linn. 
Gex. Char. Involucrum ( common calyx ) (fig. \,a.) orbicular, 
tumid, imbricated, of numerous, spear-shaped, spinous-pointed, 
spreading, or upright, permanent scales. Corolla (cec fig. 1, 6.) 
compound, uniform ; florets (see fig. 1 , b, & f, 2.) very numerous, 
equal, tubular, funnel-shaped ; tube very slender ; limb in 5 deep, 
strap-shaped, equal segments. Filaments (see fig. 3.) 5, hair-like, 
very short. Anthers (see fig. 3.) united into a cylindrical tube, 
with 5 teeth. Germen (see figs. 2 & 3.) inversely egg-shaped, short. 
Style (fig. 3.) thread-shaped, prominent. Stigma oblong, notched. 
Seed-vessel none. Seed (fig. 5.) compressed, 4-corr.ered, furrowed 
transversely. Pappus (fig. 4.) sessile, hair-like, rough, connected 
in a ring at the base, embracing the point of the seed, and finally 
deciduous. Receptacle (see figs. 6 & 7.) convex, fleshy, deeply 
cellular like honey-comb, the membranous edges of the cells un- 
even, jagged, or fringed. 
Distinguished from other genera, in the same class and order, 
by the cellular, or honey-combed, receptacle. 
One species British. 
ONOPO'RDUM ACA'NTHIUM. Common Cotton-Thistle. 
Argentine, or Silver-Thistle. White Cotton-Thistle. Wild White- 
Thistle. 
Spec. Char. Leaves egg-oblong, decurrent, sinuated, spinous ; 
cottony on both sides. Scales of the Involucrum awl-shaped, spread- 
ing in every direction. 
Engl. But. 977. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. 334. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1158. — Huds, FI. 
Angl. (2nd ed. ) p. 354. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iii. pt. III. p. 1680. — Sm. FI. Brit. V. ii. 
p. 85G. ; Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 395. — With. (7th ed. ) v. iii. p. 916. — Liudl. Syn. p. 
152. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 353. — Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. p. 459. — Sibth. FI. Oxou. p. 
247.— Abb. FI. Bedf. p. 177.— Purt. Midi. FI. v. ii. p. 384.— Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd 
edit.) p. 332. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 238. — Grev. FI. Ediu. p. 174. — Johust. Ft of 
Berw. v. i. p. 179. — Winch’s FI. of Northumb. and Durh. p. 53. — Walker’s FI. of 
Oxf. p. 233. — Perry’s PI. Varv. Selects', p. 68. — l’ainplin’s Catal. of PI. of Hatter- 
sea and Clapham, p. 14. — Onopordum vulyare, Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 434. — • 
Carduus tomentosus, Acanthium dictus, vulgaris , Bay’s Syn. p. 196. — Acan- 
thium album, Johnson’s Uerarde, p. 1149. 
Localities.— I n waste ground, on hedge-banks, rubbish, and by road-sides, 
chiefly on a gravelly soil ; frequent. — Oxfordsh. Hedge-banks on Bullington 
Green, near Magdalen College Copse ; between the Paiks and Sommers Town ; 
Fig. 1. A vertical section of a Flower ; a. the involucrum ; b. the florets ; c. the 
receptacle. — l’ig. 2. A single Floret. — Fig. 3. Germen, Pistil, and Stamens. — Fig. 4, 
Pappus. — Fig. 5. Seed. — Figs. 6 & 7. Parts of the Receptacle. 
* From onos, Gr. an ass ; and perdo, Gr. pedere ; such being the effect, ac- 
cording to Pliny, upon the ass who eats of it. Hooker. 
t See fol. 91, n. t. { See fol. 147, u. 4. 5 See fol. 27, a. 
