Family Herbal - Electric Scotland

234 FAMILY HERBAL,
mediately from the root, which is roundish., and as
big as a large nutmeg, and they stand a little way
above the surface of the ground ; they are of a purplish
blue, and very large ; the lower part is covered
with a skinny husk. In the centre of these
stand three stamina, or threads, with yellow tops,
"which are useless, but in the midst between these
rises up what is called the pislil
of the flower.
This is the rudiment of the future seed-vessel ; it is
oblong and whitish, and at its top separates into
three filaments ; these are long, and of an orange
scarlet colour ; these three filaments are the only
part of the plant that is used ; they
arc what we call
salfron. They are carefully taken out of the flower
and pressed into cakes, which cakes we see under
the name of English saffron j and which is allowed
to be the best in the world.
The leaves are long and grassy, of a dark green
colour, and very narrow. They are of no use.
Saffron is a noble cordial.
Bastard Saffron. Carthamus.
A plant in its whole aspect as unlike to that
which produces the true saffron, as one herb can
be to another ; but called by this name, because
of the yellow threads which grow from the flower.
It is of the thistle kind, two feet and a
half high, and very upright. The stalk is round,
angulated, and branched, but it is not prickly.
The leaves are oblong, broad, round at the points,
and prickly about the edges. The flowers stand
at the tops of the branches : they consist of roundish,
scaly, and prickly heads, growing
with yellow flowers
from amongst them : these are like the
flowers in
and longer.
the heads of ear thistles, but narrower