History of Monsters. 686

one of which species is described by Clusius, and the other by Tragus, and they do not differ greatly in appearance. Near the root, they send out many leaves similar to those of the yellow Wallflower—green, but narrower—among which one, or more often several, stalks rise up. These are covered with keeled leaves and bear four flowers with entire petals, yellow and rivaling the yellow garden Wallflower, though they are smaller and less fragrant. Long pods follow the flowers, as is the case with the cultivated Wallflower, and these are filled with seeds. It has a long, white root provided with many thin fibers.

From these descriptions and the list of species, the reader can easily identify the monstrous plant we present here in illustration VIII as belonging to the genus of the wild yellow Wallflower; for it was adorned with very narrow leaves and yellow flowers, though they were quite small.

In this specimen, several stalks of the plant appear to be somewhat fused together, and consequently the flowers, which usually emerge from the top of individual stalks, have become clustered together, giving this monstrous plant a wide, flattened, and twisted stem.

The monstrous deformity of the stem observed in the wild yellow Wallflower brings to mind the monstrous stem of that plant which herbalists call *Tragopogon*. This plant was called *tragopogon* and *kome* by Dioscorides and other Greeks, and *Barba Hirci* (Goat’s Beard) by the Latins, because a certain hoary growth hangs from the closed top of the calyx, resembling a goat's beard.

It bursts from the ground with leaves like those of Saffron, though wider and longer, and a yellow flower not unlike that of the Dandelion, though contained in a larger calyx that opens in clear weather and closes when it is cloudy. From the flowers emerges a downy head, in which the oblong seed is kept. It is supported by a long, white root that is pleasant to the taste, and is highly recommended when cooked in salads. For this reason, we believe this plant is familiar to everyone, as it grows wild in meadows and stony places.

Six species of this plant are subsequently assigned in the *Phytopinax*, which it would be superfluous to list here, since we are discussing only the first species. This is called *Tragopogon* by Mattioli, *Tragopogon luteum* by Lobelius, *Barba Hirci* by Tragus, *Tragopogon pratense luteum* by Bauhin, and *Sassefriga* by the Tuscans. Since this plant abounds with moisture, it not infrequently produces monstrous stems when grown in gardens where the soil is rich, where it is cultivated for its root, which is popular in salads. This is shown in illustration IX, where the reader can observe a *Tragopogon* with an exceptionally wide stem.

Nor should we forget to mention the monstrous defect observed in the stem of the *Tithymalus*. The *Tithymalus* is a plant well known for the abundance of milk it pours out when cut. Because of this, Greek lexicographers derive the name *tithymalos* from *tithos*, meaning a breast, since milk flows from this herb when lightly incised just as it does from a nipple. Following Pliny, Theodorus Gaza translated *Tithymalus* as *Lactaria*, while Columella called it *Lactuca caprina* (Goat's Lettuce), Celsus called it *Lactuca marina* (Sea Lettuce), and the apothecaries refer to it as *Esula*.

Dioscorides recorded seven species of *Tithymalus*. The first is called *characias*, or sometimes *amygdaloides*, and is the male *Tithymalus*. The second species is called the female *Tithymalus*, or *myrtitis*, which others name *caryiten* and *myrsiniten*. The third species is called *paralios*, which some call *tithymalida*. The fourth is *helioscopios*; the fifth, *cyparissias*; the sixth, *dendroides*; and the seventh, *platyphyllos*. Theophrastus lists even more kinds, and today in the *Phytopinax* of Bauhin, twenty-six species are enumerated.

Now, among so many species of *Tithymalus*, the fifth, which Dioscorides calls *Cyparissias*, deserves our consideration. Indeed, the *Tithymalus cyparissias* of Dioscorides is the *Tithymalus cupressinus*, or "Ground Pine" according to Lobelius, and the *Esula cupressina* of others. It rises from the ground with a stem about nine inches long, or even more, of a reddish color, from which emerge leaves resembling those of the Pine or Cypress, though softer and thinner, which is how it got its name.

It is full of white sap and is said to possess the same properties as other *Tithymalus* species. A specimen of this species was found that was monstrous toward its top; for the stem was widened, with a multitude of leaves and flowers growing directly on the stem, as can be seen in illustration X.