OCR Text |
Show 916 The BRITIS H HERBAL, {pikes. Refeda alba minima foliis integris. PZ.92¢¢ The root is long, flender, white and divided. The leaves that grow from it are numerous, oblong, narrow, and fharp-pointed. The ftalks rife in the centre of this clufter ; arid they are flender, upright, five orfix inches high, andfeatce at all branched. Theit leaves are fmall, and like thofe from the root: they are placed irregularly, and are of a pale green. The flowers are very fiall, and white : they BRITISH ftand at the tops of the ftalks in long, Nender 3 Bafe Rocket, calledlittle Spanifh Catchfly. Two-leaved Mitella. The feed-veffel is fimall, and thefeeds are very minute. J It is Common on hilly, barren places inthe warmer parts of Europe; and flowers in July. C. Bauhine calls it Re I . Clufius, Sefamoides falamanticum parvum fei * Our commonEnglifh writers, Little Spa catehfy, Thefe feveral fpecies are faid to be good in fomentations, andother compofitions for exter. nal ufe; but their virtues are not fupported upon experience. Mitella caule diphyllo. BSL2 The root is long, thick, and brown : if runs under the furface, and has many large fibres. The leaves which rife immediately from it are large, and fupported on long footftalks : they are broad, of a dufky green, and little hairy ; finwated, and fharply indented at the edges, The ftalk is flender, upright, and notat all branched: it is two feet high, and of a pale brown colour. Thereare two leaves onit, and they ftand near its middle, oppofite to one another, and without footftalks : they are narrower in proportion to CPIVISPSSS SSSOSge Re SN RY tay E S IL. Plants with a five-leayed flower, and fingle capfule for the feeds, no {pecies native of Britain, Gee N- HER’ ROB AY Mirella feapo dipbylio. Its Virtues are unknown, U...,.8 N U § HE flower is compofed of five petals, which are divided at the ends: the feed-veffel is of a roundifh figure, pointed at the top, and has the appearance of a berry : the cup is round, fwoln, and nipp’d at the edge; and it remains when the flower is fallen. Linneus Linnzus places this among the decandria monogywia ; the threads in the center of each flower being ten, and the ftyle from the rudimentof the fruit fingle. 1. CommonCaltrop, places this amongethe decandria trigynia 3 the threads in each flower being ten, and th flyles from the rudiment of the capfule three. This authorjoins in the fame genus, and under the fame name, many proper fpecies of Aycbnis: thefe have been defcribed in their place. ‘Fhe occafion is, that he has not obferve d the effential and diftinétive charact er of the genus, which is, that the capfule has the appear ance of a berry. This the right cucubal us has, but not any one of all thofe of the Acbnis kind: thus properly determined, there is but one knownf pecies ofthis genus: this has been at all times called by authors by that name; and the name has not been gi ven, till by this writer, to any other, Berry-bearing Chickweed, Cucubalus. they ftand in great fwoln cups, fomewhat re- Zhg S45 4, The rootis compofed of feyeral thick, crooke d fibres, The ftalks are numerous, weak, and flender: they fupport themfelves among bufhes, and will that way grow toa very confiderable height. fembling thofe of the winter cherry, and only the top of the flower is feen out of them. The feed-veffel is round, but poin ted at the end: it is of the bignefs of a large pea, and, The leaves are large : they ftand in pairs when ripe, of a black colour; fo that it has greatly the appearance of a berry. Thefeeds are numerous, {mall, and black. The flowers grow at the topsof the ftalks, and northern parts of Europe; and flowers in July. C. Bauhine calls it Aifine feand ens bacciferdi Dodonzus Alfine repens, The comm onwriters; Berry-bearing chickweed , a very improper name, without footftalks, and are oblong, broadef t in the middle, pointed at the end, not at all indented; of a tender fubftance, and of a pale green colour. of branchesrifing from the bofoms of the upper leaves: they are {mall, and of a greenif h white, GEE aN It is common in woods and thickets in all the but which weretain here, becaufe vulgarly known. It is better to call it Cucubalus, msg Tribulus vulgaris, by the general face wete deceived in this, for it a2 B3hoe SO The root is fmall, long, white, divided; and furnifhed with many fibres. The firft leaves are numerous and pinnated, and very much refemble thofe of the commonwild vetch: each is compofedoffeveral pairs of {mall leaves, on a middle rib; and thefe are oblong, of a frefh green, and fharp pointed. The ftalks are numerous, weak, flender, branched, and feven or eight inches hich. The leaves on them are the fame in form and ftru€ture with thofe from the root, but fmaller: they ftand alternately on the’ lower part of the ftalk, but frequently are placed" in pairs toward the top. The flowers’ ftand on fhort foorftalks rifing from the bofoms of the leaves, and they are {mall and yellow. The feed-veffel is fhort, angulated, and’ very Prickly ; and there’ are fome prickles alfo round the upper partiof the ftalk which fapports it: It is frequent in the northern parts of Europe, and flowers in June. C. Bauhine calls it Tribulus terrefiris ciceris folio Sruéiu aculéato, Others, Tribulus terreftris. The fingular form of this herb, which refembles the vetch kind, has led all the common Writers on plants to place it among that clafs, Il. though the flower and fruit be altogether diffe- MITELL 4, Fent. HE flower is compofed of five petals, regularly expa nded, wit h narrow bafes, which are into the cup: the feed-veffel is inferted globular, but pointed at the end : the cup is compofed fingle piece, and is hollo < w, and divided into fiv € of a fegments at the edge. Linnzus places this amo ng the decandrig digynia; the threads j n the centre of the ten, andthe ftyles from the rudim flower being ent of the capfule two, 7 Mere s HE flower, is compofed of five regularpetals evenly iP difpofed : the 5 feed-veffel is angulate r d and a 5 prickly, and contains numerous feeds: the cupis y formed of a fingle piece, divided into five fegments. CUGUBALUS. ; Itt, CA Ler ROP. of which there is eRe BU ay, Geib Ze their length than thofe from the root, and tharppointed : but they are, in thefa me manner, finuated, and notched at the edges, The flowers are placed in a long, flender {pike at the top of the ftalk, andar e very fmalJ, and as it were fringed. The feed-veffel is fmall, and the feeds are round and black. It is a native of South America, and flowers in June. Mentzelius calls it Cortufa Americana floribus minutim fimbriatis. Others of the later writers, Two- It is not a wonder they who judged only hasall the afpect of the pulfe kind. 2. Great Howered Caltrop. Tribulus flore magno. J The root is compofed of numerous bres. Thefirft leaves are long, Sarge, and beautiful ly pinnated ; eachis compofed ofeight pair of pinnz, fet on a double rib, with no leaf, but a fmall tendril at the end. The ftalks are numerous, round, upright, not muchbranched, and of a pale green. The leaves on themare placed at diftances, and refemble thofe-from theroot. The flowers ftand fingly on long footftalks rifing, from the bofois of the leaves, and they are very large and beautiful: they are of a bright yellow, and are as big as fmall poppies. The feed-veffel is {mall and prickly: the feeds are numerous, finall, and fhining. Ic is a native of the warmer parts of America, and flowers in July. Van Royencalls it Tribulus folis ofoparium conjugatis, The commoncaltrop is {aid to be cooling and aftringent ; but thofe virtues are not warranted by any known experience. There is another plant called by the old writers ¢ridulus aquaticus, and the water caltrop; but this is ofa different clafs, and is therefore properly diftinguithed by Linnaeus by a different generical name, trapa, |