VERBASCIN £. 
The 3 smaller filaments densely clothed with white hairs; but 
the 2 larger ones but sparingly so in the middle. This plant is 
very apt to run into mules by the impregnation of other species. 
The leaves and whole herb are mucilaginous, and recommended 
as emollients, both internally and externally. A pint of cow's 
milk, with a handful of the leaves, either of this or any allied 
species, boiled in it to half a pint, sweetened with sugar, strain- 
ed, and taken at bed-time, is a pleasant emollient, and nutritious 
medicine for allaying a cough, and more particularly for taking 
off the pain and irritation of haemorrhoids. It is often applied 
externally in this disorder ; and is used as an injection in tenes- 
mus with advantage. In diarrhoeas of an old standing, a decoc- 
tion of it is useful to ease the pains of the intestines :. two ounces 
of the leaves are boiled in a quart of water, and 4 ounces are 
given every 3 hours. In pulmonary complaints of cattle it is 
found to be of great use ; and hence its name of Cow’s Lung- 
wort. It is well known to the country cow-leeches under the 
name of Murrain-grass, which is a corruption of Mullien. The 
French call it Bouillon blanc, and use an infusion of the flowers 
in coughs, supposing them to possess anodyne and pectoral vir- 
tues. It does not seem to have much of the narcotic powers for 
which the Solandcee are distinguished. The seeds, however, 
are said to stupify fish so much that they may be taken with the 
hand.—Woodville. In the East Indies, the natives have the 
superstitious notion of the efficacy of this plant in protecting 
them from the visitation of evil spirits. 
The plant has many names in English. Gerarde enumerates 
Mullien, or rather Woollen, Hig-taper, Torches, Lung-woort, Bul- 
lock's Lung-woort, and Hare's Bearde. Withering adds Ladies’ 
Forglove. It is probable that Gerarde’s correction of Mullien to 
Woollen is right, especially as it is called in Dutch Wullkraut. The 
French name Molene is probably borrowed from our word Mullien. 
Hig-iaper is altered to High-taper in all modern books, sup- 
posing it to have been so named from its high tapering stem ; 
but in the North it is called Hag-taper, probably from its sup- 
posed efficacy in sorcery. 
Var. B; flowers white. 
1. p. 223. 
figure. 
Var. y; leaves narrower. 4. H. V. angüstius, Dodon. 
hist. p. 143. with a figure.— Mor. hist. 2. sect. 5. t. 9. f. 7. 
Schrank, in Hoppe, taschen. 1809. p. 90. 
Shepherd's- Club, or Common Mullien. 
tain. Pl. 3 to 6 feet. 
2 V. I'xpicum (Wall. in Roxb. fl. ind. 2. p. 236. cat. no. 
2630. Nees, in Lin. trans. 17. p. 80.) leaves decurrent, ellip- 
tic-oblong, crenated, undulated, clothed with woolly tomentum ; 
racemes spicate, dense; bracteas and calyxes woolly, cuspidate, 
longer than the fruit ; corolla subrotate, with roundish segments; 
anthers nearly equal. 4. H. Native of Nipaul. V. Tháp- 
sus, Roxb. fl. ind. l.c. Flowers yellow. Nearly allied to P. 
T'hápsus, but perfectly distinct. 
Indian Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Clt.? Pl. 3 to 4 feet. 
3 V. macrou‘rum (Tenore, fl. neap. prod. 5. ex Linnza, 8. 
p. 98.) leaves decurrent, elliptie, crenulated, clothed with white 
tomentum; spike very dense and very long, usually simple ; 
bracteas ovate-lanceolate, about equal in length to the calyx; 
corolla funnel-shaped, with orbicular segments, which are woolly 
beneath; filaments clothed with yellow wool; anthers about 
equal. 4.H. Native of Calabria, at the foot of the moun- 
tains. This species differs from V. TAápsus, in the spikes being 
much more crowded; in the flowers being altogether sessile, 
imbricate ; in the corolla being twice the size; in the filaments 
being equal, and densely woolly. 
Long-tailed Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Pl. 3 to 4 feet. 
4 V. rHAPsIFÓRME (Schrad. verb, p. 21.) leaves decurrent, 
VOL. IV. . 
&. H. V. elongatum, Willd. enum. 
V. II. flore albo, Tabern. krauter. p. 956. with a 
Fl.July, Aug. Bri- 
I. Verzascum. 489 
crenulated, tomentose: superior ones acuminated ; racemes spi- 
cate, dense; corolla rotate, with obovate-rounded segments. 
$.H. Native of Lower Saxony, in waste sterile places; and 
not far from Paris. V. intermédium, Leman, ined. V. Tháp- 
sus, Merat, fl. par. p. 85. no. 407. Habit of V. Thápsus. 
Tomentum yellowish-green. Lower leaves 4 to 6 inches long. 
Racemes more than a span long, simple. Flowers twin, or by 
threes, rarely solitary, sweet-scented, form and colour of those 
of V. phlomoides. The 2 longer filaments naked, or furnished 
with a few hairs on the inner side, bearing oblong anthers; the 
other 3 bearded. 
Thapsus-formed Mullien. 
3 to 4 feet. 
5 V. cnassiróLIUM (Hoffm. et Link, fl. port. 1. p. 213. t. 26. 
Schrad. mon. p. 22.) leaves decurrent, obsoletely crenulated, 
densely tomentose: superior ones acutish; racemes spicate, 
dense; filaments glabrous; 2 of the anthers oblong. 4. H. 
Native of Portugal, in sandy places. V. Thapsus, Brot. fl. 
lus. 1. p. 270. Plant densely clothed with rusty yellow to- 
mentum. Stem simple. Lower leaves obovate-elliptic. Very 
like V. thapsifórme, and agreeing with it in the form of the an- 
thers; but it is readily distinguished, in the filaments being all 
glabrous. V. crassifolium, of D. C. fl. gall. no. 2670. exclusive 
of the synonymes, may be the same. 
Thick-leaved Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1818. 
3 feet. 
6 V. cuspipa‘rum (Schrad. verb. p. 23. t. 1. f. 1.) leaves de- 
current, crenulated, tomentose : superior ones cuspidate ; fasci- 
cles of racemes remote; 2 of the anthers oblong. 4. H. Na- 
tive about Vienna, in mountain groves. V.Thapsus, Bot. vin- 
dob. The stem is usually more dwarf than in V. Thapsus, less 
thick, and the leaves and the tomentum thinner. The upper 
cauline leaves are drawn out into long taper points. The dispo- 
sition and form of the flowers come near to V. phlomoides. 
Fructiferous pedicels about equal in length to the calyx, not 
twice as short as in V. Thépsus. Corolla exactly rotate, with 
obovate unequal segments, larger than those of V. T'hápsus, but 
smaller than those of V. phlomotdes. The colour of the plant is 
pale green, as is generally observéd in V. Thapsus. 
Cuspidate-leaved Mullien. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1817. 
3 to 4 feet. 
7 V. ni'veum (Tenor. fl. neap. p. 90. t. 22. syn. p. 36. prod. 
p. 16. Gussone, pl. rar. 103.) leaves crenated, clothed with 
white floccose tomentum ; racemes spicate, dense; anthers 
equal. Schrad. verb. p. 23. Radical leaves petiolate, obo- 
vate, cuneated : cauline ones stem-clasping, elliptic, crenated, 
clothed with white tomentum on both surfaces; spike simple, 
compact ; filaments bearded with white hairs. 4. H. Native of 
Naples, in the province of di Bari e di Lecce, in pastures; and 
of the mountains of Lucania, and of Calabria. ‘The whole plant 
white from tomentum, except the upper surfaces of the adult 
leaves, which are green. Flowers yellow, nearly sessile, fasci- 
cled. Raceme simple, not branched. All the filaments clothed 
with white wool. Leaves never decurrent. There are varieties 
of this having the tomentum either white or yellowish. 
Fl. July, Aug. Clit. 1817. Pl. 
IBI? to 
PE 
Snow-white Mullien. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1823. Pl. 3 to 
4 feet. 
8 V. pENsrrLORUM (Bertol. pl. rar. ital. 3. p. 52. Schrad. 
verb. p. 24.) leaves tomentose : radical ones long-lanceolate, 
crenated, deeply serrated at the base : upper cauline leaves acu- 
minated, dentate, semidecurrent; racemes spicate, dense; an- 
thers equal?  4.H. Native of Italy, on the top of Mount 
Bruciana, which is situated between Carraria and Massa. Upper 
part of plant clothed with fulvous tomentum. Radical leaves 
more than 1} foot long, green above, but paler beneath. Ra- 
ceme simple, more than a foot long, fascicled. — Corollas large, 
3R 
