VERBASCIN^E. I. VERBASCUM. 



4S9 



The 3 smaller filaments densely clothed with white hairs ; but 

 the 2 larger ones but sparingly so in the middle. This plant is 

 very apt to run into mules by the impregnation of other species. 

 The leaves and whole herb are mucilaginous, and recommended 

 as emollients, both internally and externally. A pint of cow's 

 milk, with a handful of the leaves, either of this or any allied 

 species, boiled in it to half a pint, sweetened with sugar, strain- 

 ed, and taken at bed-time, is a pleasant emollient, and nutritious 

 medicine for allaying a cough, and more particularly for taking 

 off the pain and irritation of haemorrhoids. It is often applied 

 externally in this disorder ; and is used as an injection in tenes- 

 mus with advantage. In diarrhoeas of an old standing, a decoc- 

 tion of it is useful to ease the pains of the intestines : two ounces 

 of the leaves are boiled in a quart of water, and 4 ounces are 

 given every 3 hours. In pulmonary complaints of cattle it is 

 found to be of great use ; and hence its name of Cow's Lung- 

 wort. It is well known to the country cow-leeches under the 

 name of Murrain-grass, which is a corruption of Mullien. The 

 French call it Bouillon blanc, and use an infusion of the flowers 

 in coughs, supposing them to possess anodyne and pectoral vir- 

 tues. It does not seem to have much of the narcotic powers for 

 which the Solanacece are distinguished. The seeds, however, 

 are said to stupify fish so much that they may be taken with the 

 hand Woodville. In the East Indies, the natives have the 

 superstitious notion of the efficacy of this plant in protecting 

 them from the visitation of evil spirits. 



The plant has many names in English. Gerarde enumerates 

 Mullien, or rather J^oollen, Hig-taper, Torches, Lung-noort, Bul- 

 lock's Lung-noort, and Hare's Bearde. Withering adds Ladies' 

 Foxglove. It is probable that Gerarde's correction of Mullien to 

 Woollen is right, especially as it is called in Dutch Wullkraut. The 

 French name Molene is probably borrowed from our word Mullien. 

 Hig-taper is altered to High-taper in all modern books, sup- 

 posing it to have been so named from its high tapering stem ; 

 but in the North it is called Hag-taper, probably from its sup- 

 posed efficacy in sorcery. 



far. ft ; flowers white. $ . H. V. elongatum, Willd. enum. 

 1. p. 223. V. II. flore albo, Tabern. krauter. p. 956. with a 

 figure. 



Var. y ; leaves narrower. $ . H. V. angustius, Dodon. 

 hist. p. 143. with a figure. Mor. hist. 2. sect. 5. t. 9. f. 7. 

 Schrank, in Hoppe, taschen. 1809. p. 90. 



Shepherd' s-Club, or Common Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Bri- 

 tain. PI. 3 to 6 feet. 



2 V. TNDICUM (Wall, in Roxb. fl. ind. 2. p. 236. cat. no. 

 2630. Nees, in Lin. trans. 1 7. p. 80.) leaves decurrent, ellip- 

 tic-oblon?, crenated, undulated, clothed with woolly tomentum ; 

 racemes spicate, dense ; bracteas and calyxes woolly, cuspidate, 

 longer than the fruit; corolla subrotate, with roundish segments; 

 anthers nearly equal. $ . H. Native of Nipaul. V. Thap- 

 sus, Roxb. fl. ind. 1. c. Flowers yellow. Nearly allied to V. 

 Thdpsus, but perfectly distinct. 



Indian Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. ? PI. 3 to 4 feet. 



3 V. MACROU'RUM (Tenore, fl. neap. prod. 5. ex Linnaea, 3. 

 p. 98.) leaves decurrent, elliptic, crenulated, clothed with white 

 tomentum ; spike very dense and very long, usually simple ; 

 bracteas ovate-lanceolate, about equal in length to the calyx ; 

 corolla funnel-shaped, with orbicular segments, which are woolly 

 beneath ; filaments clothed with yellow wool ; anthers about 

 equal. $ . H. Native of Calabria, at the foot of the moun- 

 tains. This species differs from V. Thdpsus, in the spikes being 

 much more crowded ; in the flowers being altogether sessile, 

 imbricate; in the corolla being twice the size; in the filaments 

 being equal, and densely woolly. 



Long-tailed Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. PI. 3 to 4 feet. 



4 V. THAPSIFORME (Schrad. verb, p. 21.) leaves decurrent, 



VOL. IV. 



crenulated, tomentose : superior ones acuminated ; racemes spi- 

 cate, dense ; corolla rotate, with obovate-rounded segments. 

 $ . H. Native of Lower Saxony, in waste sterile places ; and 

 not far from Paris. V. intermedium, Leman, ined. V. Thap- 

 sus, Merat, fl. par. p. 85. no. 407. Habit of V. Thdpsus. 

 Tomentum yellowish-green. Lower leaves 4 to 6 inches long. 

 Racemes more than a span long, simple. Flowers twin, or by 

 threes, rarely solitary, sweet-scented, form and colour of those 

 of V. phlomoldes. The 2 longer filaments naked, or furnished 

 with a few hairs on the inner side, bearing oblong anthers; the 

 other 3 bearded. 



Thapsus-formed Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1817. PI. 

 3 to 4 feet. 



5 V. CRASSIFOLIUM (Hoffm. et Link, fl. port. 1. p. 213. t. 26. 

 Schrad. mon. p. 22.) leaves decurrent, obsoletely crenulated, 

 densely tomentose : superior ones acutish ; racemes spicate, 

 dense ; filaments glabrous ; 2 of the anthers oblong. $ , H. 

 Native of Portugal, in sandy places. V. Thapsus, Brot. fl. 

 lus. 1. p. 270. Plant densely clothed with rusty yellow to- 

 mentum. Stem simple. Lower leaves obovate-elliptic. Very 

 like V. thapsiforme, and agreeing with it in the form of the an- 

 thers ; but it is readily distinguished, in the filaments being all 

 glabrous. V. crassifblium, of D. C. fl. gall. no. 2670. exclusive 

 of the synonymes, may be the same. 



Thick-leaved Mullien. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1818. PI. 2 to 

 3 feet. 



6 V. CDSPIDA'TUM (Schrad. verb. p. 23. t. 1. f. 1.) leaves de- 

 current, crenulated, tomentose : superior ones cuspidate ; fasci- 

 cles of racemes remote ; 2 of the anthers oblong. $ . H. Na- 

 tive about Vienna, in mountain groves. V. Thapsus, Bot. vin- 

 dob. The stem is usually more dwarf than in V. Thapsus, less 

 thick, and the leaves and the tomentum thinner. The upper 

 cauline leaves are drawn out into long taper points. The dispo- 

 sition and form of the flowers come near to V. phlomoldes. 

 Fructiferous pedicels about equal in length to the calyx, not 

 twice as short as in V. Thapsus. Corolla exactly rotate, with 

 obovate unequal segments, larger than those of V. Thdpsus, but 

 smaller than those of V. phlomoldes. The colour of the plant is 

 pale green, as is generally observed in V. Thdpsus. 



Cuspidate-leaved Mullien. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1817. PI. 



3 to 4 feet. 



7 V. NI'VEUM (Tenor, fl. neap. p. 90. t. 22. syn. p. 36. prod, 

 p. 16. Gussone, pi. rar. 103.) leaves crenated, clothed with 

 white floccose tomentum ; racemes spicate, dense ; anthers 

 equal. Schrad. verb. p. 23. Radical leaves petiolate, obo- 

 vate, cuneated : cauline ones stem-clasping, elliptic, crenated, 

 clothed with white tomentum on both surfaces ; spike simple, 

 compact ; filaments bearded with white hairs. $ . H. Native of 

 Naples, in the province of di Bari e di Lecce, in pastures; and 

 of the mountains of Lucania, and of Calabria. The whole plant 

 white from tomentum, except the upper surfaces of the adult 

 leaves, which are green. Flowers yellow, nearly sessile, fasci- 

 cled. Raceme simple, not branched. All the filaments clothed 

 with white wool. Leaves never decurrent. There are varieties 

 of this having the tomentum either white or yellowish. 



Snom-rvhite Mullien. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1 823. PI. 3 to 



4 feet. 



8 V. DENSIFLORUM (Bertol. pi. rar. ital. 3. p. 52. Schrad. 

 verb. p. 24.) leaves tomentose : radical ones long-lanceolate, 

 crenated, deeply serrated at the base : upper cauline leaves acu- 

 minated, dentate, semidecurrent ; racemes spicate, dense ; an- 

 thers equal ? $ . H. Native of Italy, on the top of Mount 

 Bruciana, which is situated between Carraria and Massa. Upper 

 part of plant clothed with fulvous tomentum. Radical leaves 

 more than lg foot long, green above, but paler beneath. Ra- 

 ceme simple, more than a foot long, fascicled. Corollas large, 



3 R 



