CHAP. 32.—CONYZA.

There are two varieties of conyza, also, employed in making chaplets, the male[1] plant and the female. The difference consists in the leaves, those of the female plant being thinner, more tapering, and narrower, and those of the male being of an imbricated shape, the plant having a greater number of branches. The blossom, too, of the male plant is more vivid than that of the female: in both kinds it is late in making its appearance, not till after the rising of Arcturus.

The smell of the male conyza is more powerful than that of the female plant: the latter, however, is of a more penetrating nature, for which reason it is that the female plant is held in higher esteem for the treatment of the bites of animals. The leaves of the female plant have exactly the smell of honey; and the root of the male has received the name of "libanotis" from some: we have already made mention[2] of it on a previous occasion.

1. Fée takes this to be the Inula viscosa of Desfontaines, and identifies the other kind with the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. See B. xx. cc. 63, 64.

2. B. xx. c. 64.