PENTANDRIA— MONOGYNIA. Symphytum. 263 



long as the limb, which has 5 shallow, spi'eading, acute, 

 marginal segments; mouth closed with 5 lanceolate, 

 fringed, converging valves, shorter than the limb. Filam. 

 short, in the throat, alternate with the valves. Anth. 

 arrow-shaped, acute, concealed by the valves. Germ. 4, 

 abrupt. Style slightly club-shaped, as long as the corolla. 

 Stigma simple. Seeds 4, ovate, tumid, converging, at- 

 tached to the base of the enlarged calyx. 

 Herbaceous, perennial, hairy or bristly. Leaves ovate, 

 pointed, veiny. Clusters large, revolute, forked. Fl. of 

 various colours, spreading or drooping. Roots fleshy, 

 abounding in mucilage. 



1. S. officinale. Common Comfrey. 

 Leaves ovate-lanceolate, decurrent, finely hairy. 



S. officinale. Linn. Sp. PI. ] 95. Willd. v. 1 . 770. Fl. Br. 218. Engl. 



Bot. V. 12. ^817. Curt. Loud. fuse. 4. t. IS. Woodv. supjd. t. 215. 



Hook. Scot. G9. Fl. Dan. t. 664. Schrad. Asperif. 25./. 8. 

 S. n. 600. ILdI.Hlst.v.1.266. 

 S. magnum. Bauh. Hist. v. 3. 593./. Rait Syn. 231). 

 S. majus. Mattli. Valgr. v. 2. 310./. Camer. Epit. 700./, 

 Consolida major. Ger. Em. 806./. 

 /3. Symphytum patens. Sihth. 70. 



In watery meadows, about the banks of rivers and ditches. 



Perennial. May, June. 



Root externally black, oblong, fleshy, yielding much pure insipid 

 mucilage, which renders it useful in coughs, and all internal 

 irritations. Ste)ns 3 feet high, hairy, winged with the decurrent 

 bases of the taper-pointed, wavy, rough- edged leaves. Clusters 

 hairy, stalked, in pairs, revolute. Cal. more or less spreading in 

 the buff-coloured, as well as purple, variety ; which last is 

 Dr. Sibthorp's S. patens, and Haller describes its Jlower shorter 

 than the other ; but 1 have not been able to find a specific 

 difference. 



2. S. tuberosum. Tuberous-rooted Comfrey. 

 Leaves ovate, slightly decurrent, rather harsh ; upper ones 



opposite. 



S. tuberosum, iinn. 5p. Pi. 195. Willd. v. \. 77\. Fl. Br.2\9. 

 Engl. Bot. u. 2 1 . f. 1 502. Light/. 1 09 1 . Hook. Scot. 69. Don 

 H. Br. 133. Jacq. Obs. fasc. 3. 12. t. 63. Austr. t. 225. Ger. 

 Em. 806./ Bauh. Hist. v. 3. 594./ 



S. radice tuberosa. Camer. Epit. 701./ 



In moist shady places in the north. 



Opposite to the new well at the water of Lcith.but more plentifully 



