Carduus Polyacanthos. Prickliest Thistle. 
CARDUUS. Limi. Gen. Pl. Syngenesia Polygamia .Eqdalis. 
Calyx ovatus, imbricatus, fquamis fpinofis. Reccpt. pilofum. 
Raii Syn. Gen. g. Herbei flore ex flosculis fistularibus composito sive 
capitatas. 
CARDUUS polyacanthos foliis decurrentibus margine fpinofis, ramis patulis, calycibus fubrotundis laxis, 
fquamis Tubulatis patentibus fubinermibus. 
CARDUUS acanthoides foliis decurrentibus finuato-pinnatifidis margine fpinofis, calycibus folitariis 
peduncularis ereflis villofis. Linn. Sp. Pt. ei. 3. p. 1150. PL Suec. ed. 2. n. 718. Jacy. 
FI. Auftr. V. 3. t. 249. polyacanthos. Schreb. Lipf. p. 15. 
CARDUUS crifpus. Linn. Lightfoot Scot. V. l. p. 452. 
CARDUUS crifpus foliis decurrentibus finuatis margine fpinofis, calycibus globofis pedunculatis 
folitariis ereftis. Hudfon FI. Angi. ed. 2. p. 350. 
CARDUUS caule crifpo. J. B. 3. p. 50. Raii FUJI. V. 1. p. 309. Syn. ed. 3. p. 194. 
CARDUUS fpinofiflimus anguftifolius vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. 385. ? 
CARDUUS fpinofiffimus vulgaris Polyacantha. Theophraf. Lob. Ic. 21. 
POL Y AC ANTII A Theophrafti. Tabem. Ic. 701. 
CARDUUS polyacanthos capitulis pluribus nutantibus ramofior. Morif. Ox. III. 353. n. 1 1 4 
ONOPORDON. Thiftle upon Thiftle. Ger. Herb. p. 1010. 
CARDUUS polyacanthos. The molt prickly Thiftle. Park. Th.p. 981. n. 5. 
CARDUUS fylveftris primus. Dod. p. 739. /i 1. Ger. emat. p. 1173. 
RADIX annua, funplex, albida, pluribus fibris capil- © 
lata. © 
CAULIS 2-4. pedalis et ultra, ere£lus, levifiime fulcatus, V 
hirfutus, 4-^ fariam alatus, alae laciniatje, fpi- I 
noliflimas, filtulofus. faspe ufque ad bafin ramo- X 
fus; Rami praelongi, patentes, apice flori- ih 
feri. X 
FOLIA fertilia, decurrentia, lanceolata, incifo-Iobata, © 
lobis oppofitis, finuato-dentata, crifpatula, V 
margine fpinofa, fupra viridia, fubtus albida, i 
liifpido-tomentofa. X 
FLORES mediocres, teiTninales, plerumque aggregati, $ 
purpurei, odorati, felfiles, aut breviter pedun- § 
culati, ere&i aut fubnutantes. v 
CALYX commums fubrotundus, laxe imbricatus, {qua- A 
mis fubiilatis, reffexo-patulis, fubtomentofis, X 
mitibus; | 
COROLLA compolita, tubulofa, uniformis-, calyce v 
duplo longior; Corollulce hermaphrodita;, lub- V 
aequales, reflexas, fig. 1. V 
SEMEN oblongum, lasve, pallide fufeum, leviter Itri- X 
alum, utrinque obtufum; Pappus fimplex, q 
J ig. 2. auft .fg. 3. © 
ROOT annual, fimple, whitifh, furnifhed with nume- 
rous fibres. 
STALK from two to four feet high or more, upright, 
very flightly grooved, hirfute, furnifhed with 
four or five wings, which are jagged and ex- 
tremely prickly, branched, often to the bot- 
tom ; Branches very long, fpreading, pro- 
ducing flowers at their extremities. 
LEAVES feffile, decurrent, lanceolate, cut into 
lobes, which are oppofite, fcolloped, toothed, 
and a little curled, fpinous on the edge, 
above green, beneath whitifli, and fomewhat 
woolly: 
FLOWERS middle-fized, terminal, for the molt part 
cluttered, purple, odoriferous, feffile or hand- 
ing on fhort footftalks, upright or fomewhat 
drooping. 
CALYX common to all the florets, nearly round, loofe- 
ly imbricated, fcales tapering to a point, 
fpreading, and fomewhat reflexed, flightly 
cottony, and harmlefs. 
COROLLA compound, tubular, uniform, as long 
again as the calyx; Florets hermaphrodite, 
nearly equal, and reflexed, Jig. 1. 
SEED oblong, fmooth, of a pale brown colour, flightly 
ftriated, blunt at both ends; Down fimple. 
Jig. 2. inagn. Jig. 3. 
The prickly armour worn by mott of the Cardui, renders them a truly formidable tribe ; our Northern 
brethren have chofen the Thillle as an emblem of their motto, “ Nemo me impune lacejjit ” there is however a 
confiderable difference m the ftrength and number of their fpines in different fpecies, in fome they are fo few 
and thofe fo fhort, and foft, that the plant may be handled with perfea fafety; while in others they are fo 
fliarp, and fo completely befet every part of the plant, that it cannot even be touched without the'ereatett 
caution; of the latter kind is the prefent fpecies, which divers of the ancient Botanifts diftimruifhed by the name 
of polyacanthos {many /pined) a word, m its ftritf fenfe applicable to various other fpecies ; but by this exnrefW 
Aey dMbdefc ™. eant - P nckl y in . the extreme, quafifpinojijfimus, conformable to which is the old Englifh name of 
Th fie upon Th fie On comparing this fpecies with all our Englifh Thirties, as they grew together in my 
garden, I found that the (pmes in this were aHually more numerous than in any of the reft, thou J the talaibL 
rfoSnLTifpropnew' 0 “ ” P ° mt ° f number ; the term - therefore, as far as regards our Englili* ThiUlZ* 
ProfeHbr Schreber, author of the beft treatife on GrafTes the world ever faw of the eivhth edition „r .t. 
° f raa " 7 “ he 5 indMmable U Botany and Natural Hiftory °n treL n v 
oi this Thiftle has adopted the above-mentioned name of polyacanthos; he regards it at the fame time as h? 
acanthoides of Linnasus, which name he rehnquifhes, becaufe he confiders it - • - e as lhe 
the acanthoides of J. Bauhine (our tenuiflorus' 
as more properly belonging to 
This fpecies is very common in the environs of London bv the fide*: of ™ 4 nr,, 
under hedges, flowering from June to September: it is fonJtimes found with white flowe^'and accolJnf 
Ls fl“o: if orTff cfnEf fr0m tW ° “ fiVC ° r — - « hairy, liTThtf 
> M**- w i th -Inch Undents are apt to confound it, and 
lerves to diferi minate it, as it uffet 
branches are more bowed or bent downward^ Mr %u”re rejKrf^Tbuttffts^aa»'?* ***"’“ flowerin 
from which it may be diftinguifhed in various ways: its olace of ornwtli r P r«Pc ^ A\r„ - l ■ 
dry, not moift fttuations, in which alone the paluftris is found ; itfs more branched andTheT 
branches are more bowed or bent downwards, as ourfio-ure reprefents- but ,!-b rh ’ a - extiei " e flowering 
onfolely, they being often perfecftly uptight’, as figufd ^bySlfor^ ’j ‘'T “ 
unerring mark of diltmaion between the two, the fcales in tLt of lhe jLj?l ' affom ? th e_ : 
.j. (Lai " i c*i — v y 1 • lug \_/cuy.\ an or as * 
arvenjis, acaulis, and fome others, while in the prefent plan/ they^ mf^fb imbricated as in the 
Burdock, and aim oft as harmlefs; Ray, who has defenbed it mo/ admirably* obferves ^ aTibl'lat the flowed 
are more odoriferous. 
We laft fummer obferved the larva of the Papillo Cariul, feeding abundantly on its for 
srvinl nr vif>w if 10 (parppln w/wth L„; - i i P. . J 11 
ling 
point of view, it is fcarcely worth noticing, being «“annuli,'' ficUsTSe^”' 
