o 
E RYN 
dichotomous. Thefe plants have fomewhat the appear¬ 
ance of thirties : the leaves are oftan lpinous. The root 
of this is annual or biennial; root-leaves bluntifh, the fer- 
ratures terminating in harmlefs fpines. Stem a foot high 
or more, green, fomewhat angular, dichotomous, fpread- 
ing. The whole plant is exceedingly (linking, fays Lin¬ 
naeus; or rather, fays Sloane, has a very penetrating, 
ftrong, though not very unfavoury, fmell. The lower 
leaves are fix or feven inches long, narrow at the bafe, 
and enlarging upwards to an inch in breadth near the top, 
where they are rounded off on one fide like a fcymitar, 
they are finely ferrate, and of a light green colour. The 
flowers are produced in fmall fertile heads, coming out at 
every divifion of the (talks, and at the ends of the branches; 
they are of a dull white colour, and make little appearance. 
They appear in June and July, and the feeds ripen in au¬ 
tumn. According to the Kew catalogue, this plant flow¬ 
ers from Atiguft to October. Itis a native of the Weft In¬ 
dies, Mexico, Surinam and Virginia. All parts of the plant 
are reckoned very powerful antihyfterics, and much ufed 
by the negroes and poorer whites, on all occafions of that 
nature; whence they call it fttweed. It is chiefly adrni- 
nilfered in decodtions or infuiions. 
2. Eryngium aquaticum, or marrti eringo : leaves gla- 
diate ferrate-fpiny, floral leaves undivided. This has a 
perennial root, from which arife feveral long leaves, dif- 
pofed round the root, like thofe of the aloe or yucca; 
they are of a grey colour, a foot long or more, and one 
inch and a half broad, (tiff, and ending in fpines. The 
Item is ftrong, two feet high, and divides at top into feve¬ 
ral peduncles, each terminated by an oval head blue. 
They come out in July, but unlefs the feafon of flowers, 
which are white, with a little cart of pale, is very warm, 
the feeds will not ripen in England. It has the appear¬ 
ance and leaves of a fmall Bromelia, but is ciliate with 
capillary flexible foft fpines. The chaffs of the flowers 
are larger. The involucres and chaff's quite entire. It 
grows naturally in Virginia and Carolina, where it is call¬ 
ed rattlefnake-weed, from its life in curing the bite of that 
venomous reptile. 
3. Eryngium planum, or flat-leaved eringo : root-leaves 
oval flat crenate, heads peduncled. Root perennial: 
fteni upright, round, furrowed or ftreaked, whitifh, about 
a toot and half in height, blueifh at top, where it divides 
mto three parts, each of which is terminated by a pe¬ 
duncled axillary flower. It makes a pretty appearance 
when in flower, which is in July; efpecially that with 
blue (talks and flowers, for there is a variety in which 
they are white, with the leaves of a lighter green. As 
this plant does not fpread at the root, it ftiould be allowed 
a place in the pleafure-ground. Native of Auftria, Sile- 
fia, Poland, and Rurtia. 
4. Eringium pufillum, or dwarf eringo : root-leaves 
oblong galhed, (tern dichotomous, heads fertile. This 
puts out oblong plane leaves from the root, which are cut 
on their edges; the (talks rife about a foot high, and 
branch out into many forked divifions, which are regular, 
and have a fmall head of flowers in each, fitting very 
clofe between the branches: thefe having no great beauty 
it is (eldom cultivated except in botanic gardens. It 
flowers from June to Auguft. Native of Spain and the 
Levant. 
5. Eryngium tricufpidatum, or trifid eringo : root- 
leaves cordate, (tern-leaves palmate with ears bent back, 
chaff's three-cufped. Root biennial, tuberous, approach¬ 
ing to the (hape of the radilli. Stem a foot high, with 
fpiny heads at the top and in the axils, fomewhat like 
thofe of Pfyllium or fleawort plantain, with purple florets 
in them. Native of Spain, Sicily, and the Levant. 
6. Eryngium maritimum, or fea-eringo, or fea-holly: 
root-leaves roundifti plaited fpiny, heads peduncled, chaffs 
three cufped. Root creeping, and running deep into the 
ground. Stems a foot high, branched, fmooth, having 
at each joint leaves of the fame form with the lower ones, 
but fmaller. The flowers come out at the ends of the 
Gr 1 U M. 
branches in roundifti prickly heads, and are of a whitiflt 
blue colour; under each head is a range of narrow, (tiff, 
prickly leaves, fpreading like the rays of a ftar. The 
flowers appear in July. By old Englirti writers it is call¬ 
ed fea-hol'ty, fea-kohne, and fea-hulver. It grows in great 
plenty on the fandy and gravelly fliores, in many parts of 
Britain and other countries of Europe. The young flow- 
ering-fhoots eaten like afparagus are very grateful and 
nouriftiing. The leaves are fweetifli, with a (light aro¬ 
matic warmth and pungency. The roots are fuppofed to 
have the fame aphrodifiac virtues as the Orchis tribe. 
They are kept in the (hops candied ; and are (till regard¬ 
ed by the Arabs as an excellent reftorative. 
7. Eryngium campeltre, or field eringo: root-leaves 
ftem-clafping pinnate-lanceolate. Root perennial and 
(trong. The whole plant very ftiff and pale green. Flow"- 
ers in July and Auguft. Native of mod parts of Europe ; 
in Great Britain not very common; on the coaft near the 
ferry from Plymouth into Cornwall, near Newcaftle upon 
Tyne; below Melling in Yorkfhire; alfo far inland, 
oppofite Brookhall, near Daventry, in Northamptonftiire. 
8. Eryngium amethyftinum, or amethyftine eryngo: 
root-leaves trifid fubpinnate at the bafe. The lower 
leaves are divided like the fingers of a hand, into five or 
fix fegments, which are very much cut at their extremi¬ 
ties into many parts, and have fmall fpines. Stem about 
two feet high, with fmaller and more divided leaves. The 
upper part of the Hem, and alfo the heads of flowers, are 
of the fineft amethyftine colour, fo that they make a very 
fine appearance. Native of the mountains of Styria. 
Cultivated in England in 1664. It flowers in July, and 
when the autumn proves dry, the feeds will ripen here. 
Scopoli cannot difcover any other difference between this 
and the foregoing, except that the leaves are more gafhed 
in the one than the other; he therefore looks upon them 
as one fpecies. There is a variety, which is fmaller, and 
the involucre has trifid folioles. 
9. Eryngium triquetrum, or triquetrous eringo : root- 
leaves trifid, ftem very much branched, peduncles thres- 
fided, involucres three-leaved keeled. Stem eredt, rigid, 
a fpan or a foot in height, very much branched, round, 
fmooth, amethyftine, as are alfo the branches and flowers. 
Gathered in the dry plains in the kingdom of Tunis, by 
Vahl. 
10. Eryngium alpinum, or alpine eringo: root-leaves 
heart-fliaped, ftem-leaves ternate gafhed, involucres fpiny- 
pinnate ciliate. It is a plant, fays Villars, curious to fe*, 
on account of the beauty of the involucres, which are of 
a vinous azure blue, mixed with green and white, fcarcely. 
prickly ; the heads of flowers are much elongated, cylin- 
dric in the lower, and fuddenly rounded in the upper 
part. This fort has been confounded with the next by 
the Bauhins, and Linnaeus; but it lias the lower leaves 
entire as in E. planum, whereas in the enfumg fpecies 
they are cut to the centre. The leaves of this are fitu¬ 
ple, ferrate and fmooth; thofe on the ftem trifid, and 
the upper or floral leaves, coloured, palmate and fringed. 
Native of the mountains of Swifferland, Dauphiny, and 
Italy. 
ir. Eryngium Bourgati, or cut-leaved eringo: root 
and ftem-leaves alternate and three-parted, twice trifid; 
involucres awl-lhaped, many-leaved fomewhat fpiny. 
Height from eight inches to a foot. Stems thick, white, 
ftrong, and branched from the bottom. Gouan, who firft 
clearly diftinguilhed it, fays that it approaches very near 
to E. tricufpidatum, but differs from it in having the 
leaves digitate and biternate, but not palmate ; the chaff's 
quite entire, not three-cufped. Mr. Miller, who culti¬ 
vated this fpecies in 1731, fays that the (talks rife about 
two feet high, that the flowers are of a light blue colour, 
in very large heads, that it flowers in June and July, and 
that the feeds ripen here in autumn. Native of the louth 
of France. 
Propagation and Culture. 1. As this plant is a native 
of hot countries, it will not thrive in England, hut in a 
warm 
