348 



P L A 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



P L A 



Dr. Withering, Dr. Smith, and Mr. Curtis, do not esteem 

 this plant as a pasture or meadow herb. Practical men, 

 however, hold it in some esteem. Mr. Young informs us, 

 that he long ago recommended this plant for laying land to 

 grass, and sowed it on his own farm. At the same time he 

 thinks it extravagant to propose Dandelion and Sorrel, as 

 plants proper for a cow-pasture ; and conjectures that these 

 plants being found among good ones, have qualities attributed 

 to them which they do not possess. Dr. Anderson observes, 

 that the Narrow-leaved Plantain, or Rib-grass, is very well 

 liked by horses and cattle, and yields a very good crop upon 

 rich ground tending to dampness, if it is at the same time 

 soft and spongy ; but that upon any soil which has a tendency 

 to bind, or upon dry ground, it furnishes a very scanty crop. 

 And it has been adopted in some parts of Yorkshire as a 

 summer grass. As an article of pasturage for cattle and 

 sheep, it is there in high esteem : it is not however much 

 liked by horses ; and as an article of hay, is held to be detri- 

 mental to the crop, retaining its sap an unusual length of 

 time, and when fully dry, falls into a small compass, or is 

 broken into fragments, and left behind in the field. One 

 advantage of this plant is, that its seeds may easily be pro- 

 cured genuine. A small proportion of it may be eligible, as 

 it has stood the test of many years' established practice, and 

 appears to be esteemed even among observant husbandmen. 

 Mr. Marshall tried it in Norfolk, as a substitute for Clover, 

 but gained no credit from the experiment : the fact is, horses 

 dislilke it, and they are the principal consumers of the Clover 

 crop in that county. It varies much in the size of the plant, 

 breadth of the leaves, &c. The narrow leaves have only 

 three ribs. The spike is sometimes surrounded by large 

 leaves instead of the usual small bractes ; it sometimes be- 

 comes an abortive panicle ; and is also found with two or 

 three heads. 



9. Plantago Capensis ; Cape Plantain. Leaves elliptic ; 

 of the spike distinct. Native of the Cape. 



10. Plantago Lagopus ; Round-headed Plantain. Leaves 

 lanceolate, somewhat toothletted; spike ovate, hirsute; scape 

 round ; border of the corolla even. It flowers in June and 

 July. This beautiful little plant, which is said to be a native 

 of the south of France, Spain, Portugal, and Barbary, was 

 found by Mr. Thomas Nuttall on the banks of the Missouri. 



11. Plantago Lagopodioides. Leaves lanceolate, nerved, 

 ciliate, toothletted ; stem leafy ; peduncles axillary ; spikes 

 ovate; bractes membranaceous ; segments of the corolla ovate. 

 Probably a mere variety. Found on the sands near Tozzer 

 in Spain. 



12. Plantago Lusitanica; Portugal Plantain. Leaves 

 broad-lanceolate, three-nerved, somewhat toothed, and hairy ; 

 scape angular; spike oblong, hirsute. According to Desfon- 

 taines, the leaves are oval-oblong, nerved, toothletted, run- 

 ning down into a short petiole, tomentose at the base, and 

 attenuated both ways ; scape striated, smooth, except at the 

 top, where it is a little villose, with hairs pressed close; 

 spike ovate, cylindrical, covered with a soft down. It flow- 

 ers in July and August. Native of Spain, and found near 

 La Calle in Barbary. 



13. Plantago Patagonica; Patagonian Plantain. Leaves 

 lanceolate, linear, somewhat channelled, quite entire, woolly- 

 haired; scape round, hirsute; spikes cylindrical; stamina 

 not exceeding in length the tube of the corolla. This is very 

 nearly allied to the next species, but the leaves are narrower, 

 more linear, and nerveless. Annual. Native of Champion 

 rirer.in Patagonia. 



14. Plantago Albicans ; Woolly Plantain. Leaves lance- 

 olate, oblique, villose; spike cylindrical, erect; scape round; 



bractes concave, ovate, membranaceous at the edge, the 

 length of the calix ; segments of the corolla ovoid, sharpish, 

 rufescent; antherse thick, -yellow; style standing out, fili- 

 form, pubescent. Perennial, flowering from June to Sep- 

 tember. -Native of the south of France, Spain, and Barbary. 



15. Plantago Argentea ; Silvery Plantain. Leaves narrow- 

 lanceolate, quite entire, silky, hoary ; scape not striated ; 

 spike round ; flowers very much crowded ; bractes ovate, 

 acute, membranaceous at the edge, shorter than the flower ; 

 corolla pale, rufescent, with the segments ovoid and smooth. 

 It is allied to the preceding species, but has a shorter spike, 

 round, with the flowers very much crowded, not interrupted 

 when the fruit is ripe. Native of Barbary. 



16. Plantago Hirsuta; Hairy Plantain. Leaves linear, 

 ciliate; spike cylindrical; scape hirsute. Native of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



17. Plantago Alpina; Alpine Plantain. Leaves linear, 

 flat ; scape round, hirsute ; spike oblong, erect. Root per- 

 ennial, oblique, branched, creeping a little, often as if it were 

 bitten off. According to Krocker, before the flowers open 

 the spike hangs down ; and after flowering, it becomes long 

 and cylindrical. The bractes are as long again as the calix; 

 the corollas are blackish ; the capsules are smooth and dis- 

 tinct. Native of Switzerland, Austria, and Siberia. 



18. Plantago Bellardi. Leaves linear-lanceolate, hairy, 

 higher than the round hirsute scape ; spike ovate, erect. 

 This is a small annual plant, often an inch, sometimes an 

 inch and half in height; bractes lanceolate, attenuated, the 

 length of the calix; segments of the corolla lanceolate. 

 Desfontaines remarks, that it differs from the fourteenth 

 species, to which it is allied, in having the hair spreading, 

 not pressed close, the spike shorter and denser, the bractes 

 awl-shaped, and the segments of the corolla very _small. 

 Native of Spain and Italy. 



19. Plantago Cretica; Cretan Plantain. Leaves linear, 

 flat, hairy; scape round, very short, woolly; spike roundish, 

 nodding. This is a small annual plant, when cultivated 

 having the leaves longer, and not so closely woolly, and 

 upon the whole putting on a very different appearance from 

 the wild plant. Corolla yellow, with a purple eye. Native 

 of Crete. 



20. Plantago Barbata; Bearded-leaved Plantain. Leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate, somewhat toothed, bearded at the base ; 

 spike globular, four-flowered. Native of Terra del Fuego. 



21. Plantago Ciliata; Fringed Plantain. Leaves hoary, 

 narrow-lanceolate ; scape about the same length with the 

 leaves, hirsute; heads of flowers round, leafless; corollas 

 ciliate. This puts up several very short stems from the same 

 head ; bractes ovate, concave, pubescent, membranaceous 

 at the edge, ciliate at the tip, the length of the calix, which 

 is villose, and has elliptic segments ; corolla of a pale rufous 

 colour. Native of the sandy desert near Cassa and Elhamah 

 in Barbary. It is an annual plant. 



22. Plantago Maritima; Sea Plantain. Leaves linear, 

 almost quite entire, channelled, woolly at the base; spike sub- 

 cylindrical; scape round. Root perennial, woody, inversely 

 conical at the crown ; stalk five or six inches high ; corolla 

 whitish. No plant varies more in size than this : its leaves 

 being sometimes scarcely an inch, and at other times more 

 than a foot in length. The height of the stalk is more con- 

 stant, but the number of flowers in the spike varies extremely. 

 It delights in a muddy soil, and is found on the highest 

 mountains, as well as near the sea-shore. Dr. Withering 

 notices two varieties : One narrow-leaved with filiform leaves, 

 a much smaller plant than the common sort, and flowering 

 earlier: this was found in the Isle of Wight, going out of 



