PIG-WORT TRIBE 



219 



V. agrestis varies considerably, especially in the shape of the 

 sepals and size and colour of the corolla, and two of the more dis 

 tinct forms have been named. V. -polita. Rounded sepals ; 

 corolla large and blue ; leaves small. V. opaca. Sepals spoon- 

 shaped ; seeds few. 



13. V. Buxbaumii (Buxbaum's Speedwell). Not unlike the last, 

 but a stouter plant, with large blue flowers on pedicles longer than 

 the leaves ; capsules sharply keeled, twice as broad as long. Culti- 

 vated ground ; common. Probably introduced with agricultural 

 seeds at some time. Fl. all the summer. Annual. 



14. V. arvensis (Wall Speedwell). A small plant, with incon- 

 spicuous light blue flowers, which are almost concealed among the 

 upper leaves or bracts ; lower leaves egg-shaped, heart-shaped at the 

 base, crenate, stalked ; upper leaves sessile, longer than the flowers. 

 The whole plant is downy, and a great collector of dust. Walls and 

 fields ; common. Fl. April to September. Annual. 



15. V. verna (Vernal Speedwell). A small plant, 2-3 inches 

 high, much resembling the last, but distinguished 



by its leaves being cut into 3-7 pinnatifid lobes. 

 Sandy fields in Norfolk and Suffolk. Fl. May to 

 July. Annual. 



16. V. triphyllos (Finger - leaved Speedwell). A 

 rare species, distinguished by its 3-7 fingered leaves 

 and loose racemes of a few dark blue flowers. Sandy 

 places in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Yorkshire. Fl. April 

 to July. Annual. 



14. Verbascum (Mullein) 



1. V. Thapsus (Great Mullein). A stout herba- 

 ceous plant with a simple or branched stem, 2-5 

 feet high, remarkable for its large flannel-like leaves, 

 woolly on both sides, running down the stem. The 

 flowers are yellow, and borne in dense club-shaped 

 spikes. Two of the 5 stamens are longer than the 

 rest, and hairy ; the remaining 3 are smooth. This 

 plant, together with Foxgloves, is a picturesque 

 object if planted broadly in the wilder parts of a 

 garden. Fl. July, August. Biennial. 



2. V. Blattaria (Moth Mullein). A tall, some- 

 what slender plant, simple or branched, smooth or Thapsus 

 nearly so, with shining, crenate leaves, the lower ones {Great Mullein) 

 stalked, often lobed at the base, those half-way up 



the stem sessile, and the upper ones clasping or running down the 

 stem ; flowers large and handsome yellow or sometimes white, in 



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