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Show The BRITISH HERBAL. "188 ‘The —$—$—$——. and rife up more erect than the leaves of any other fpecies. The ftalk is fingle, naked, purplifh, and not is naked, flender, and eight or ten inches | it is of a purplifh colour, as are alfo thele and it rarely divides even at the top, The flowers ftand in a fhort {pike mit: they are larger thanin the precedi and are white ; but they rarely openwidely, The feed-veffel is oval and large ; andthefeeds are numerous, and very {mall. It is found on wet heaths in our northern above three inches high: it rarely divides, but counties; and flowers in June. The leaves rife in a large tuft twenty or more together : they are of an oblong figure, fmalleft at the bafe, and thence gradually widening to the extremity, where they are rounded and obtufe 5 and they are placed on long,flender footftalks. They are covered withftiff, long, yellowhairs, ufuially has a long feries of flowers ftanding all on onefide : thefe are white and fmall. The feed-veffel is large and oval; and the feeds are fmall, numerous, redifh, and nearly round. It is found on wetparts of heaths, and flowers in May. Ray calls it Rorella longifolia perennis. This author, in compliance with the cuftom of others, has fet down the variety of the common fundew with longifh leaves; but declares his doubts asto its being a diftinét fpecies: this, on the contrary, he marks as a certainly diftin& fpecies, and different abfolutely from that. 4. Great long-leaved Sundew, Rorella major longifolia. (a 2 Zo./9 4 This, like the two former, is a perennial fpecies. The root is compofed of innumerable, flender, crooked fibres, and fpreads a great way under the furface. The leaves rifein a clufter, and are lone and narrow: they are placed on very long, flender footftalks, and naturally ftand very upright ; but the weight of the leaf, when charged with its moifture, and the extream weaknefs of the ftalk, occafions its frequent drooping. The ftalk rifes in the centre of this tuft; and DoT Voi Sf OLN sci, Ray calls it Rorella longifolia maxima. All thefe fpecies have the fame medicinal qualities. What we knowwithcertainty of them is, that The leaves, bruifed and applied to the fkin, aét as an efcharotick: they are more violent than the leaves of the fharpeft crowfoots, and bring on fuch inflammations as are not eafily removed ; and our people in the country are fo convinced oftheir deftructive qualities; when eaten by theep, that it is vulgarly known among them by the name of red rot. The Italians ufe it to this day, among many other ingredients, in their /igueurs, or fine cor- dials5 and theladies in the country, with us, yet admit it among other ingredients, in the fame manner, into their family waters. : It is probable that the virtues afcribed to it in thefe are owing to the other ingredients ; and that its own. pernicious qualities do not rife in diftillation, FOREIGN Grafly-leaved Sundew. SPECTES, Tt is not fo tall as the leaves; and is not naked, Rorella folits gramineis. az Z. The root is fmall, long, and furnifhed with a few fibres. Theleaves are very numerous, and rife in thick tufts: they grow upright; they have no foot- ftalks; and, when young, they frequently curl fpirally at the ends : they are very long, and extremely narrow, round on the back, hollow in front, and covered with long hairs. The ftalk rifes in the midft of this tuft, and is flender, and tolerably upright, as in the feveral kinds that are natives of our country, but has two or three leaves upon it, placed at diftances alternately, and of the fame fhape with thofe fromtheroot. The flowers are fall and white ; and the feed- vetiel is large and oval. The feeds are {mall and brow n. It is found on damp grounds in Portugal, and flowers in July. i Plukenet calls it Ros /alis J Pas cafes deli minoris, Solis Iai pee lohan Its qualities are not certainly know n, Ba Linnzus places this among the decandri: from the rudiment of the fruit author ee: Ee SAXIFRAGE. Sek PE IR A Go THE flower is compofed of five petals, which are nar row at the bafe, and broader to the feed-veffel is of an oval figur the end: e but b has a double beak : the cupis fmall, it is formed of 4 fingle piece, dividedintofive fegments, and it remains with the feed -veffe], Linnzus joins the , HERBAL, 189 aia, the threads being ten in each flower, and the’ ate lea ance of the ftin& genera. d into five fegnd from this ce of ftruéture, feed veffel ; for in the faxifrage it m, there being no fuch entire part of the cup, i We have obferved that the c ments; but that of the ; , andit is the more needful to-be preferved, becaufe both The blending thefe together, as Linnzus ge and the gewm have very numerous {pecies. has done, by confounding the two genera, mutt theref ore encreafe thedifficulty of the fcience. It is fingular that Mr. Ray, lefs accurate than Linnzeus in his examinations of the more minute parts of plants, though more fo in his choice of cluffical diftinétions, fhould have obferved this, j whicl i ry e: 1eto its utilit while the other either overlooked it, or did not pay it that regard which was due toits utility, not to be had during a longer part of the year freth; for it is worthy to be much more ufed thanit is. . Common white Saxifrage. Saxifraga alba vulgaris. The root is compofed of a great many fmall, oval, or roundifh tubercles, of a fle fhy fubftance and redifh colour; and of a multitude of long andflender fibres, iffuing fromtheir furface, and from a {mall head, to whichtheyalfo grow. The leaves rife in little clufters, and are of a very fingular and pretty form: they ar2 rounded, but a little part of the circular figureis wanting where the ftall is inferted; and they are of a flefhy fubftance; a pale green colour, andinde ed at the edges: their footftalks are long and flender, and they ftand tolerably erect. The ftalk rifes in the midft of this clufter, and is round, flefhy, upright, and about a foot high. The leaves are placed alternately on it; and they have long footftalks, and refemble thofe from the root. The flowers are large, beautiful, and of a fnow white; and they are fometimes found naturally double: they ftand onfhort footftalks at the tops of the ftalks, andon little fhoots rifing from the bofoms of the upper leaves. The feed-veffel is oval, and has a double beak at the top: the feeds are numerous and{mall. It is commonin our paftures, and flowers in May. About Wandfor and toward Peckham there is a great deal of it; and, when in flower, it gives thofe fields a very beautiful 2. Rue Whitlow The root is compofed of a fewfmall threads. The. firft leaves rife in a little tuft, and are thick, flefhy, and divided in a fingered manner: their colour is whitifh, or not unfrequently redifh ; and they have.a fewfcattered hairs upon them. ’ The ftalk rifes in the midft of thefe, and. is round, thick, flefhy, of a redith colour,..and about three inches high. The leaves ftandalternately on it, and refemble thofe from the root, but theyare fmaller. The flowers ftandat the tops of the ftalks and branches, and are ,moderately large, and! of a beautiful fnow white. The feed-veffel is oval, and forked at the top: the feeds are numerous, and very minute. It is common on old walls and the tops of houfes; and flowers early in {pring. C. Bauhine calls it Sedum t Others, Saxifraga annua v Our common tes teétorum. Englifh name of whitlow grafsisa very indeterminateone: we fhould do much better to cail it low /pring faxifrage with ct; C. Bauhinecalls it Sexifraga rotundifolia alba. J. Bauhine, | “Ok G 7 3 and others, plainly Saxj This plant is an excellent diuretick. Aninfufion of the whole herb, roots, leaves, and ftalks, works powerfully, fafely, by urine, and brings away gravel. It ‘has been fuppofed, by fome, capable to diffolve the ftone in the bladder; but this is an idle thought. he dried root poffefles the fame qualities, but a lefs degree. This is what the druggifts ufed > Which was the y g g of the appearance of a feed. Theplant lofes a great deal of its virtue in drying; andit is great pity that it is Ne Sle Cale Bae BR LT 1S DolV 15,1.0' N in external ufe they are very dangerous; and, as itis faid, chat taken internally they are very hurtful to cattle, we/are told that, in the formofa diftilled water, they are highly cordial andreftorative; but at prefent they are difufedin regular practice; nor’ is it likely that ever they deferved the charaéter that has been given of themin that refpect. BRS Seek 3. Trifid-leaved Saxifrace. Saxifraga pumila trifido folio. Theroot is fmall, oblong, and furnithed with a few fibres. TheJeaves rife in a thick tuft; and, as they are very fine, and thick fer, they have a mofly appearance; whence fome have named the plant mally fengre Theleaves, when examined feparately, are oblong, ofa pleafz n, and dividedinto three arts at the top. he ftall e humerous, fmall, upright, and or four inches high. The leaves on themareplacedirre ularly, and ew andfimall. e flowers ftand at the tops of the ftalks, and are of a beautiful fnow white, €cec |