NAT. ORDER. 



LuridcB. 



DIGITALIS PURPUREA. PURPLE FOXGLOVE 



Class XIV. DiDYNAMiA. Order II. Angiospermia. 



Gen. Char. Calyx five-parted. Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, ven- 

 tricose. Capsule ovate, two-celled. 



Spe. Char. ScgmeJits of the calyx ovate, acute. Corolla obtuse, 

 upper lip imdivided. Leaves downy. 



' ' The 7-oot is biennial, and fibrous; the stalk is erect, simple, taper- 

 ing, covered with fine hairs or down, and grows to the height of four 

 or five feet ; the leaves are large, oval, narrowed towards their points, 

 obtusely serrated, veined, downy, and stand upon short-winged foot- 

 stalks; the floral leaves or bracteae, are spear-shaped, sessile, and 

 purplish towards the point ; the calyx consists of fine segments, Avhich 

 are eliptical, 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 in- 

 flated, and almost cylindrical, but swelling towards the base, and open- 

 ing at the limb into four irregular, short, obtuse segments ; of these 

 the uppermost is the shortest, appearing truncated or cut off trans- 

 versely ; the peduncles are round, short, villous, and bend downwards 

 by the weight of the flowers ; the fllaments are two long and two 

 short, white, crooked, inserted in the bottom of the tube, and crowned 

 with large oval yellow anthers ; the style is simple, and thickening to- 



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