DIGITALIS PURPUREA. ORD. XII. Solanacee, seu Luride. 219 
pear-shaped, sessile, purplish towards the point; the calyx consists 
of five segments, which are elliptical, pointed, nerved, or ribbed, 
and the uppermost segment is narrower than the others; the flowers 
grow in a long terminal spike, chiefly on one side, they are large, 
monopetalous, pendulous, bell-shaped,* purple, and marked on the 
inside with little eyes, or dark coloured dots, placed in whitish rings; 
the tubular part appears inflated, and almost cylindrical, but swell- 
ing towards the base, and opening at the limb into four irregular, 
‘short, obtuse segments, of these the uppermost is the shortest, ap- 
pearing truncated or cut off transversely; the peduncles are round, 
short, villous, and bend downwards by the weight of the fiowers; 
the filaments are two long and two short, iehites crooked, inserted 
in the bottom of the tube, and crowned with large oval yellow 
antherz ; the style is simple, and thickening towards the stigma, 
which is bifid; the germen is oval, and surrounded at the bottom 
by a small nectarious gland; the capsule is bilocular, and contains | 
many blackish seeds. It grows commonly about road sides and 
hedges, especially in dry gravelly soils, and flowers in June and 
July 
The leaves of Fox-glove have a bitter nauseous taste, but no 
remarkable smell; they have been long used externally to sores and 
scrophulous tumours with considerable advantage. Respecting the 
internal use of this plant we are told of its good effects in epilepsy, 
scrophula, and phthisis ; but the incautious manner in which it was 
employed rendered it a dangerous remedy: thus we find Ray 
(after reciting the case of epilepsy cured by it, as mentioned by 
Parkinson, ) says, “ Verum medicamentum hoc robustioribus tantum 
convenit, siquidem violenter admodum purgat & vomitiones im- 
manes excitat:’*-and others, speaking of its successful exhibition 
in scrophula, remark, “ Sed ob nimiam remedii vehementiam, con- 
tinuationem ejus necessariam detrectavit.". Yet while Digitalis. 
was generally known to possess such medicinal activity, its diuretic 
* The flowers bear some resemblance to the finger of a glove; hence the name Digitalis. 
: * Raii Hist. p. 767.‘ Vide Murray’s Ap. Med. vol. 1, p, 192, 
