‘pa 
= 3 . 
* ~ : % 
PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. ——_133 
‘Cultivated by the aborigines of the Missouri from the 
river Platte to the mountains, also by the natives who in- 
habit on the banks of the Columbia river. Ihave no where 
seen it spontaneous, but am informed of its existence as 
| such on the banks of the Columbia. The ‘Tobacco most . 
i esteemed by the Indians of the Missouri is that which 
they obtain from the flowers, preserving the viscid calix™ 
and rejecting the corolla. Ee 
This genus now consisting of 13 species is for the most 
part indigenous to South America; there is however 1 spe- 
cies in China, the .V. fruticosa, and another around Port 
f Jackson in New Holland. 
It is doubtful whether all the benefits which have ac- 
crued to Europe from the discovery of America, have not 
been counterbalanced by the introduction of this univers 
sal luxury, produced at the expense of human liberty, and 
of a soil which could otherwise be employed in augmente 
ing the necessaries of life, independent of the diseases in- 
separable from the use of so powerful a narcotic. 
203. VERBASCUM. ZL. (Mullein.) 
Calix 5-parted. Corolla rotate, 5-lobed, un- 
equal. Stamina declined, bearded. Sigma sim- | 
ple. Capsule 2-celled, valves inflected, many-_ 
seeded. ; , 
Herbaceous or rarely suffruticose, mostly biennial; 
leaves ofien decurrent.on the stem, entire, deeply tooth- 
ed, or more or less pinnatifidly lobed; pubescence stellate 
> 
racemosely paniculate. Anthers 1.celled. 
Srecres. 1. V. Thapsus. Introduced. Now nat Mees 
ized. Pubescence ramified, and proliferously articulated. 
‘The capsules of this plant, about the period of maturity, 
: are said to possess a degree of irritability, suddenly clos- 
‘ ing with crepitation after being forcibly struck. Accord=" _ 
‘ ing to the observations of Dr. Smith in Flor. Brit. 1. p. 
species have been introduced. Now naturalized. 4, 
This genus is chiefly indigenous to the South of Ex- _ 
rope, there are a few species also in the Levant, anda 
shrubby and spiny species in the isle of Crete. V. Clays 
ont appears to be 2 mer variety of V. Blaitaria,. . 9° 
or simple and glandutiferous; flowers densely spiked or 
250, the whole herb is mucilaginous, emollient, and some- 
Whet narcotic. 2% gchnitie. 3. Blattaria. Both these 
