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¶ The Description.
1 PVrple floure Gentle riseth vp with a stalke a cubit high, and sometime higher, streaked or chamfered alongst the same, often reddish toward the root, and very smooth: which diuideth it selfe toward the top into small branches, about which stand long leaues, broad, sharpe pointed, soft, slippery, of a greene colour, and sometimes tending to a reddish: in stead of floures, come vp eares or spokie tufts, very braue to looke vpon, but without smell; of a shining light purple, with a glosse like veluet, but far passing it: which when they are bruised, doe yeeld a iuyce almost of the same colour, and being gathered, doe keepe their beauty a long time after, insomuch that being set in water, it will reuiue againe as at the time of his gathering, and it remaineth so, many yeares, whereupon likewise it hath taken its name. The seed standeth in the ripe eares, of colour blacke, and much glittering: the root is short, and full of strings.
2 The second sort of floure Gentle hath leaues like vnto the former: the stalke is vp∣right with a few small slender leaues set vpon it: among which doe grow small clusters of scaly floures, of an ouerworne scarlet colour. The seed is like the former.
3 It far exceedeth my skill to describe the beauty and excellency of this rare plant called Floramor; and I thinke the pensill of the most curious painter wil be at a stay, when he shall come to set him downe in his liuely colours: but to colour it after my best man∣ner this I say: Floramor hath a thicke knob∣by root, whereupon doe grow many threddy strings: from which riseth a thicke stalke, but tender and soft, which beginneth to de∣uide himselfe into sundry branches at the ground and so vpward, whereupon 〈◊〉〈◊〉 grow many leaues, wherein doth consist his beauty: for in few words, euery leafe doth resemble in colours the most faire and beautifull feather of a Parrat, especially those feathers that are mixed with most sundry colours, as a stripe of red, and a line of yellow, a dash of white, and a rib of green colour, which I canot with words set forth, such are the sundry mixtures of co∣lours that nature hath bestowedin her greatest iollitie vpon this floure: the floures doe grow betweene the foot-stalkes of those leaues and the body of the stalke or trunke, base, and of no moment in respect of the leaues, being as it were little chassie husks of an ouerworne 〈◊〉〈◊〉 colour: the seed is blacke, and shining like burnished horne. ‡ I haue not seene this thus variegated as our Author mentions, but the leaues are commonly of three colours; the lower part, or that next to the stalke is greene; the middle red, and the end yellow; or else the end red; the middle yellow, and the bottome greene. ‡
4 This plant hath a great many of threds and strings, of which his roots doe consist. From which doe rise vp very thicke fat stalkes, crested and streaked, exceeding smooth, and of a shining red colour, which begin at the ground to diuide themselues into branches; whereupon doe grow many great and large leaues of a darke greene colour tending to rednesse, in shew like those of the red Beet, streaked and dasht here and there with red, mixed with greene. The floures grow alongst the stalkes, from the middest thereof euen to the top, in shape like Panicum, that is, a great number of chaffie confused eares thrust hard together, of a deepe purple colour. I can compare the shape thereof to nothing so 〈◊〉〈◊〉 as to the veluet head of a Stag, compact of such soft matter as is the same: wherein is the seed, in colour white, 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and bored through the middle.
‡ 5 This in stalkes and leaues is much like the purple floure Gentle, but the heads are larger, bended round, and laced, or as it were wouen one with another looking very beautifully like to Crimson veluet: this is seldome to be found with vs; but for the beauties sake is kept in the Gar∣dens of Italy, whereas the women esteemed it not only for the comelinesse and beautious aspect,