THELIGONUM, dog's cabbage; a genus of the polyandria order, belonging to the monoclea class of plants. There is only one species; viz. the cynocranthe or dog's cabbage of Dioscorides. This plant grows plentifully in the south of France, in Italy and Tartary. It is annual. The stalks trail on the ground like those of chickweed; they grow about a foot long; their joints are pretty close, garnished with oval acute-pointed leaves, standing on pretty long footstalks, which are bordered. At each joint is placed one of these leaves; and from the same point come out several smaller, of the same shape, on shorter footstalks. The flowers are produced from the wings of the stalks in clusters, sitting very close; they are small, of an herbaceous white colour, so make no great appearance. The male and female flowers grow from the same joint. The female flowers are succeeded by a single roundish seed, which ripens in autumn.
It is preferred in botanic gardens for the sake of variety. The seeds of this must be sown in autumn, in the place where the plants are to remain; for when they are sown in the spring, the plants rarely come up the same year. They require no other culture but to keep them clean from weeds, and thin them where they are too close.