Carduus Polyacanthos. Prickliest T histle.
CARDUUS, Lmn. Gen. PL S yn g en e s ia P o l y g am ia ^Eq u a l is .
Calyx ovatus, imbricatus, fquamis fpinofis. Recept* pilofum.
RaiiSyn. Gen. g. H erbas f lo r e ex f l o s c u l i s f is tu l a r ib u s comp’o s it o . s iv e
C APIT AT .iE.
CARDUUS polyacanthos foliis decurrentibus margine fpinofis, ramis patulis, calycibus fubrotundis laxis,
fquamis fübulatis patentibus fubinermibus.
CARDUUS acanthoides foliis decurrentibus finuato-pinnatifidis margine fpinofis, calycibus lolitariis
pedunculatis ereßis villöfis. Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 3, p. 1150. FL'Suec, ed. 2. n. 718. Jaca.
FL Au fit.. T. 3. i. 249. polyacanthos. \ Schreb. Lipf. p. 15.
CARDUUS crifpus» Linn. Lightfoot Scot. V. 1. p. 452.
CARDUUS crifpüs foliis decurrentibus finuatis margine fpinofis, calycibus gtobofis pedunculatis
folitariis ere&is. Hudfon Fl. Angl. ed'. 2. f . 350.
CARDUUS caule crifpo. J . B. 3. p. 50. Raii Hiß. V< i.p . 309. Syn. ed. 3. p/194*
CARDUUS-.' fpinofiffimus anguftifolius vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. 385. ?
CARDUUS fpinofiffimus vulgaris Polyacantha. - Theophraß. Lob. Ic. 21.
POLYACANTHA Theophrafti. Labern. Ic. 701. '
CARDUUS polyacanthos capitulis pluribus nutantibus ramofior. Morif. Ox. 111. 153. n. 11.
ONOPORDON. Thiftle iipon Thiftle. Ger. Herb. p. 1010.
CARDUUS polyacanthos. The moft prickly Thiftle. Park. Lh. p. 981. n. 5.
CARDUUS fylveftris primus. Dod. p. 739. f 1. Ger. emac. p. 1173. -,r
I ,RADIX annua, fimplex,-albida, pluribus-fibris capil- | ROOT annual, fimple, whitifh, furnifhed with nume-
■ lata.' h -----£i-----
■ CAULIS 2-4 pedalis et ultra, ere&üs, leviffime fulcatus,
hirfutus, 4-5 fariam alatus, alæ laciniatæ, fpi-
nofiffimæ, fiftulofus, fæpe ufqüe ad bafin ramo-
fus; Rami prælongi, patentes, apice ftori- j
I feri'i
fibres.
STALK from two to four feet high or more, upright,
very flightly grooved, hirfute, fumifhed with
four or five wings, which are jagged and extremely
prickly, branched, often to the bottom
; Branches .very long, fp reading, producing
flowers at their extremities.
LEAVES feflile, decurrent, lanceolate, cut into-
lobes, which are oppofite, fcolloped, toothed,
and a little curled, fpinous on the edge,
above green, beneath whitifh, and fomewhat
woolly.'
■ FOLIA feflilia, decurrentia, Ianceolata, incifo-Iobata,
lobis oppofitis,. finuato-dentata, crifpatula,
tnargine fpinofa, fupra viridia, fubtus albida, !
hifpido-tomentofa. ' (
■ FLORES mediocres, terminates, plerumque aggregati, $ FLOWERS middle-fized, terminal, for the moft part
purpurei, odorati, feffiles, aut bréviter pedun-
cülati, ere£ii aut fubnutantes.
CALYX compiUnis fubrötundus, laxe imbricatus, fquamis
fübulatis,^ reflexo-patulis, fubtomentofis,
i mitibus.-
■ COROLLA compofita,- tubulofa, uniformis, çalycè
duplo longior; Corollulce hermaphroditæ, füb-
æquales, reflexæ, fig. 1
cluftered, purple, odoriferous, feflile or Handing
on fhort footftalks, upright or fomewhat
drooping.
1 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,
, ,„0 v ‘ nearly equal, ana reflexed, fig. 1.
;SEMEN oblongum, laeve, pallide fufcum, leviter ftri- | SEED oblong, fmooth, of a pale brown colour, flightly
atum, utrinque obtufum; Pappus fimplex, X floated, blunt at both ends; Down fimple
fig: 2. au£t.fig. 3. • ' I fig* 2. magn. fig* Q*
_ The prickly armour worn by moft of the Cardui, renders them a truly formidable tribe; our Northern
I brethren have chofen the Thiftle as an emblem of their motto, " Nemo me impune lacejfit ” there is however a
■ conliderable difference in the ftrength and number of their fpines in different fpecies, in fome they are fo few
■ and thole Jo fhort, and foft, that the plant may be handled with perfeft fafety; while in others they are fo
»narp, and fo completely befet every part of the plant, that it cannot even be touched without thegreateft
I caution; of the latter kind is the prefent fpecies, which divers of the ancient Botanifts diftinguifhed by the name
Wpotmanibof {many/pined) a word, in its drift fenfe applicable to various other fpecies; but by this expreflion
I S / 61 S meaM Prickly in.the extrem t, quafifpinofiffimus, conformable to which is the old Eoglifh name of
I r jp i uPon Lhifile. On comparing this fpecies with all our Englifh Thiftles, as they grew together in my
Karden, I found that the fpines in this were aftually more numerous than in any of the reft, though the palu/lris
■ yas not much inferior to it ^ point aP of nnmKAv.number; .the Ka term, 4u therefore,m as far rn« as ______ regards __ our *_: tt-Englifh _ vn- rr.Thiftles,
t. . ___
- is founded i > propriety.
■ rofeffor S c h r e b e r , auth o r o f the beft treatife on G raffes the w o r ld e v e r faw , o f th e e ighth edition o f the
L in n a e u s , and o f m any other ineftimable treatifes in B o tan y and N a tu ra l H ifto r y , in.trea ting
me */ y p . " 3S a^°Pte<^ fb e above-mentioned name o f polyacanthos ; he regards it a t the fame time as the
I k * , ° LiNNvEus, w h ich name he relinquifhes, b ecaufe h e confiders it as mo re p ro p e r ly belonrino- to
of J. B A U H iN f {oMvtenuiflorusy . y o e io n g in g - to
IndeK T C1CS n ver^ C0mm0B in the environs of London, by the fides of roads, on the borders o f fields, and
flowering from June to September: it is fometimes found with white .flowers, and according
n.?atl0H ls Obferved to vary in fize from two to five or 'more feet, to be more or lefs hairy, and to have
I . . e%niore or lefs cluftered.
Irom w h ^ ral aPPearan?e it approaches near to the p alufiris, with which ftudents are apt to confound it, and
Pry not l l l l l . diftinguiffied in various ways: its place o f growth ferves to diferiminate it, as it affefts Iranche m01 ltuatIons’ in which alone, the p a lu firis is found; it is more branched, and the extreme flowering
Pifolpl - I m? re bowed o t bent downwards, as our figure reprefents; but this charader is not to be dependeS
P e r r in ^ , / ° S en ,Pe lfe a iy nprigH fs figured by Profeffor J acqu in : the Calyx affords the moft
raarJJ, ot diitinttion between the two, the fcales m that o f the p a lu firis are clofely imbricated, as in the
Rrdoci acauf \ and fome others, while in the prefent plant they are loofe, much refembling thofe o f the
G ’ andalmoft as harmlefs; R a y , who has deferibed it moft admirably, obferves alfo, that the flowers
. odoriferous.
N n tb f •^umi?le.r ob ferv ed the la rv a o f the Papilio Cardui, fe ed in g abu nd antly on its fo lia g e! In an ag ricu ltu ral
* Vlew> ft is fc a r c e ly w orth notic ing , b e in g an an nual, and fe ldom ab ou n ding either in fields o r gardens.