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Of the Floure of the Sun, or the Marigold of Peru

The Description. 1 THe Indian Sun, or the golden floure of Peru, is a plant of such stature and talnesse, that in one summer, beeing sowne of a seed in Aprill, it hath risen up to the height of fourteene foot in my garden, where one floure was in weight three pound and two ounces, & crosse overthwart the floure by measure sixteen inches broad. The stalks are upright & straight, of the bignesse of a strong mans arme, beset with large leaves even to the top, like unto the great Clot bur: at the top of the stalk commeth forth for the most part one floure, yet many times there spring out sucking buds which come to no perfection: this great floure is in shape like to the Camomil floure, beset round about with a pale or border of goodly yellow leaves, in shape like the leaves of the floures of white Lillies: the middle part whereof is made as it were of unshorn velvet, or some curious cloath wrought with the needle: which brave worke, if you do thorowly view and marke well, it seemeth to be an innumerable sort of small floures, resembling the nose or nosle of a candlestick broken from the foot thereof; from which small nosle sweats forth excellent fine and cleare turpentine, in sight, substance, savor, and tast. The whole plant in like manner being broken smelleth of turpentine: when the plant groweth to maturitie the floures fall away, in place whereof appeareth the seed, black and large, much like the seed of Gourds, set as though a cunning work-man had of purpose placed them in very good order, much like the hony-combs of Bees. The Place.

These plants grow of themselves without setting or sowing, in Peru, and in divers other provinces of America, from whence the seeds have beene brought into these parts of Europ. There hath bin seen in Spain and other hot regions a plant sowne and nourished up from seed, to attaine to the height of 24 foot in one yeare.

The Time.

The seed must be set or sowne in the beginning of April, if the weather be temperat, in the most fertill ground that may be, and where the Sun hath most power the whole day.

The Names.

The flour of the Sun is called in Latine Flos Solis, for that some have reported it to turn with the Sun, which I could never observe, although I have indeavored to finde out the truth of it: but I rather thinke it was so called because it resembles the radiant beams of the Sunne, whereupon some have called it Corona Solis, and Sol Indianus, the Indian Sunne-floure: others, Chrysanthemum Peruvianum, or the Golden floure of Peru: in English, the floure of the Sun, or the Sun-floure.

The Vertues.

There hath not any thing bin set down either of the antient or later writers, concerning the vertues of these plants, notwithstanding we have found by triall, that the buds before they be floured boiled and eaten with butter, vineger, and pepper, after the manner of Artichokes, are exceeding pleasant meat.