OF ORNAMENTAL PERENNIALS. 
227 
GENUS XLIV. 
LACTUCA, Lin. THE LETTUCE. 
Lin. St/St. SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA ^QUALIS. 
Generic CiuR*CTRn. — Receptacle nearly naked. Involucre inibricate. Scales with margin. Pappus simple, stipitate. Seeds smootli. 
Desceiption, &c. — 5Iy readers will, perhaps, be surprised at my introducing the Lettuce in my series of 
ornamental plants ; but I think the flowers of one of the species so pretty, and the leaves so unlike those of the 
common garden Lettuce, that it appears to me worth cultivation. The word Lactuca is derived from Lac 
(milk), in allusion to the milky juice which is abundant in all species. 
1.— LACTUCA PERENNIS, Lin. THE PERENNIAL LEI TUCE. 
Synonymes. — Cliondrilla ceerulea, Bauh. ; C. altera, Dodd. I Specific Character. — All the leares pinnatifid. Segments linear, 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 2130; and our^^. 2, in PI. 59. j occasionally dentate. Flowers in corymbose panicles. 
Description, &c. — This species, though a native of the southern parts of Europe, is quite hardy in British 
gardens, in a dry calcareous soil. It flowers from June to August, and its flowers, which are light purple, 
with a white centre, have a gay and brilliant appearance. It was introduced before 1596. 
GENUS XLV. 
PRENANTHES, Lin. THE PRENANTHES. 
Lin. Syst. SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA ^QUALIS. 
Generic Char.vcter. — Receptacle naked. Involucre caly,Y-like. Seeds cylindrical, striated, truncate in the upper parts. Pappus simple, 
sessile. 
DEScniPTioN, &c. — The genus Prenanthes was founded by Linnaeus, but the species it contained have been 
since nearly all distributed among other genera. They are rather pretty, and one is well deserving of cultivation. 
The word Prenanthes is derived from two Greek words, signifying a drooping flower. All the species are hardy. 
1.— PRENANTHES ALBA, Lin. THE WHITE PRENANTHES. 
Synonymes. — P. suavis, Sal. ; Narbalus suavis, Dec. ; N. albus, Specific Charactkh. — Flowers numerous, suhumbcllate. Leaves 
Hook; Ilarpalyce alba, Z>. Z)o». angular, dentate. 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 1079; and our fig. S, in PI. 59. 
Description, &c. — This very pretty plant, though now so seldom grown, is well deserving of cultivation. 
It is a native of North America, and, consequently, quite hardy in British gardens, where it will grow from 
three to six feet high in any common garden soil. The stems are generally purplish ; the involucres are of a 
dark purple ; and the flowers milk-white. The anthers are a brownish yellow, and the stigmas, which project 
a long way beyond the flower, are green. The flowers are sweet-scented ; but the whole plant abounds in a 
milky juice, that is so intensely bitter, that, in Georgia, where the plant grows wild, it is called the Gall-of-the- 
earth. The American Indians use it as a remedy for the bite of venomous serpents. It was introduced in 177^, 
and it is propagated either by seeds or by dividing the roots. It flowers in July and August. 
