64 A BOTANIC A.L RAMBLE ON THK SEA COAST. 



It was called in Celtic ferfaen, from fer — to drive away, and faen — a stone, 

 from its supposed medicinal qualities; but it appears to have quite lost its repute. 



The long lane before mentioned brought us at last into the Brixham road, 

 and turning into a field on the left, we met with Aiicmisia inaritima, (Sea 

 Wormwood,) scarcely yet in flower, and the beautiful Vipers' Bugloss, {Echium 

 vulgare,) the flowers of a bright reddish purple when in bud, afterwards blue. 

 From the supposed resemblance of the seeds when ripe to the head of a 

 Viper, arose the opinion that this plant not only possessed the virtue of 

 curing the bite of that reptile, but also of destroying the reptile itself. It 

 is said that bees which feed much upon the flowers are subject to a corrosion 

 of the wings. 



Now we arrived within view of the sea, and descending the cliffs about 

 two miles beyond Goodrington, quickly discovered Plantago Coronopus, (Buck's- 

 horn Plantain,) and Plantago viaritima, (Sea Plantain,) Daucm maritimus, 

 (Sea Carrot,) easily distinguished from Daucus carota, (Wild Carrot,) which 

 it much resembles, from the umbels being destitute of a central coloured 

 flower. Lathyrm maritimus, (Sea-side Everlasting Pea,) covering the cliffs in 

 all directions with its flesh-coloured flowers. In a cleft of the rock we discovered 

 the Sea Fern, {Asplenium marinum,) a locality not before recorded, which 

 alone amply repaid us for our long walk. After resting a while on the rocks, 

 determining our specimens, etc., which we most thoroughly enjoyed, the sea 

 dashing around us, the sea-breeze refreshing us with its delightful coolness, a 

 fleet of fishing-boats in the distance, and Torquay in the background, making the 

 scene delightful in the extreme, we again started over the cliffs to Goodrington, 

 and found in abundance the Samphire, (Grithmum maritimum,) and the Teasel- 

 headed Trefoil, {Trifolium maritimum.) 



On the sands about Goodrington, we obtained specimens of Solanum nigrum, 

 (Common Nightshade,) a pretty plant somewhat like the Potato flower. It 

 is common in waste places near houses. Its flowers are white; the fruit at 

 first green, afterwards black, containing many kidney-shaped seeds. Woodville, 

 in his "Medical Botany," page 238, tells us, ^'The smell of this plant is 

 faint and disagreeable; to the taste it manifests no peculiar flavour, being 

 simply herbaceous. It appears to possess the deleterious qualities of the other 

 Nightshades in a very considerable degree; even the odour of the plant is 

 said to be so powerfully narcotic as to cause sleep. The berries are equally 

 poisonous with the leaves." In the same situation grows the Cakile maritima, 

 or Sea Rocket, a fleshy glaucous plant with large lilac flowers. 



In a marsh at Goodrington, near the beach, we observed Foeniculum vulgare, 

 (Fennel,) with its large, feathery, much-divided leaves, and Gluucium luteiim, 

 (Yellow-horned Poppy. On the sands, Ei-yngium maritimum, (Sea Holly,) 

 and a single specimen of Moth Mullien, (Verbascum Uattaria.) It was 

 anciently supposed by some, that this plant was highly agreeable to Moths, 

 Butterflies, etc., from its odour, and by others, that it was found useful in 

 destroying that species of insect which infests paper and books. 



