v] Fuchs and Turner 125 



fluff which falls from flowers or fruits. So also certain 

 woolly hairs which remain on certain plants when they 

 lose their flowers, and afterwards disappear into the air, 

 are pappi, as happens in Senecio, Sonchus and several 

 others." 



In the German edition of Fuchs' herbal, the descriptions 

 are remarkably good for their time, being more methodical 

 than those of Bock, though sometimes less lively and 

 picturesque. As an instance of his manner we may cite 

 his account of the Butterbur, of which his wood-cut is shown 

 in Text-fig. 58. " The flower of Butterbur," he writes, 

 " is the first to appear, before the plant or leaves. The 

 flower is cluster-shaped, with many small, pale pinkish 

 flowerets, and is like a fine bunch of vine flowers in full 

 bloom to look at. This large cluster-shaped flower has 

 a hollow stalk, at times a span high ; it withers and decays 

 without fruit together with the stalk. Then the round, 

 gray, ash-coloured leaves appear, which are at first like 

 Coltsfoot, but afterwards become so large that one leaf 

 will cover a small, round table. They are light green on 

 one side, and whitish or gray on the other. Each leaf has 

 its own brown, hairy and hollow stem, on which it sits like 

 a wide hat or a mushroom turned over. The root grows 

 very thick, is white and porous inside, and has a strong, 

 bitter taste." 



Our English herbalist, William Turner, is often fresh 

 and effective in his descriptions. He compares the Dodder 

 (Cuscuta) to "a great red harpe strynge," and the seed 

 vessels of Shepherd's Purse to "a boyes satchel or litle 

 bagge." Of the Dead Nettle he says, " Lamium hath 

 leaves like unto a Nettel, but lesse indented about, and 

 whyter. The downy thynges that are in it like pryckes, 

 byte not, ye stalk is four-square, the floures are whyte, 

 and have a stronge savor, and are very like unto litle 

 coules, or hoodes that stand over bare heades. The sede 

 is blak and groweth about the stalk, certayn places goyng 

 betwene, as we se in horehound." ^^ 



The three / great botanists of the Low Countries, 

 Dodoens, de l'Ecluse and de l'Obel, were so closely asso- 

 ciated that it is hardly necessary to consider their style of 

 plant description individually. Henry Lyte's well-known 



