The BR IT $M {Hb RBA Ds 
89 
th@y are deeply finuated at the edges, in the 
manner of many of thé poppy kinds, and are 
pointed at the ends: 
The ftalks are numerous, of a woody hardnefs, 
round, irregular in their growth, and fpreading, 
The leaves ftand at diftances on them, and 
are altogether unlike thofe from the root: they 
are fimple, of a cordated figure, and very white : 
they furround the ftalk at the bafé, and terminate 
in an obtufe point. » 
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful yel- 
low. 
The feed-veffels are Jarge and the feeds fmall, 
There is fomething in the difpofition of the 
flowers in this {pecies different from moft of the 
others : they ftand in a long, flender, and inter- 
rupted fpike. 
It is frequent in Italy, and flowers in July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Verbafeum nigrum foliis pa- 
paveris corniculati. . J. Bauhine, Verbafcum crif- 
pum et laciniatum. 
Mullen is a powerful reftringent; and the coms 
mon, white kind pofféfiés the virtue in a greatel 
degree-than any other {pecies. 
The root dried and powdered is good in dy- 
fenteries : fifteen grains for a dofe. ; 
The juice of the leaves, boiled into fyrup with 
honey, is excellent in coughs and other diforders 
of the lungs. 
The juice of the root, expreffed with red wine; 
is good againft overflowings of thé ménfes; dnd 
alone it is a fovereign remedy in fpitting of blood. 
_A  pultice made of the tops and young leaves 
of mullein is excellent in the piles. 
There are the authority. of confiderable named’ 
for recommending the exprefled juice of mullein 
inthe tympany. The plant deferves a tryal in 
this cafe, which fo often foils the beft artift, 
The other fpecies probably pofefs the famé 
virtues ; but, it feems by their tafte, in a lefg 
degree, 
Gob wEBiai aN se 7S XXVi. 
MOTH MULLEIN,. 
BLAETARIA. 
“HE flower confifts of a fingle petal, divided into five fegments: the feed-veflel is round, and 
the cup is divided into five fharp fegments. : 
Linnaeus places this among the petandria monogynia, but he does not allow it to be a diftin®: 
genus: he takes away its antient name, and makes it a fpecies of verbafctum. The Englifi writers 
were fenfible that it was nearly allied to mullein or verbafcum, as appears by their naming it woth mill: 
lein ; but it differs evidently in the figure of the feed-veffel, which is round in this, and not in muilein, 
The fpecies of each of thefe genera are numerous ; fo that there is confufion in joining them: too 
many of the botanical writers have confounded thei already, callitig feveral proper fpecies of verbaf- 
cum, blattaria, and thofe of blattaria, verbafcum: the effential diftin€tion of the two genera being 
thus eftablifhed by the form of the capfule, I fhall here feparate them, according to that charaéter, 3 
DJsV IS) © Nie BR lotcl Seo S sPab se elapes) 
Moth Mullein. 
Blattaria vulgaris. 
The root ig long, large, divided into feveral 
parts, and hung with a multitude of fibres. 
The firft leaves are long, narrow, and of a 
fhining green: they rife without footftalks, and 
fpread circularly upon the ground. ; 
The ftalk rifes in the centre, and is round, 
firm, thick, upright, and two or three feet high, 
_ The leaves ftand irregularly on it: they are 
fmall, and of the fame fhape and colour with 
DAV S WOsN 4 I. 
1. Purple Moth Mullein, 
_ Blattaria purpurea, 
The root is long and thick, divided, and 
hung with fibres. 
The firft leaves are large, numerous, and of 
an oval figure: they have fcarce any footftalks, 
and fpread upon the ground. 
The ftalks are numerous, round, thick, firm, 
upright, and a foot and half high, : 
N@ og, é 
® 
thofe from the root: they grow to the ftalk by a 
broad bafe, and are fharply fefrated. 
The flowers are very large and beautiful: they 
are of a gold yellow, and have purple buttons to 
the numerous threads in their centre. 
The feed-veffel is large, and the feeds ara 
fmall. 
It is a wild plant with us, but not common: 
T have obferved it near Denham in Buckingham- 
fhire. It flowers in Auguft, Lak 
C. Bauhine calls it Blattaria lutea folio longa 
laciniato. : 
FOREIGN SPECIES, 
The leaves ftand irregularly on them; and are 
fhort, broad, of a dark green colour, and oval: 
they have no footftalks, and fometimes they are a 
little dented, fometimes quite undivided at the 
edges. 
The flowers ftand in long fpikes, and they are 
large, and purple; their colour varies from the 
deepeft violet to the plaineft red; and from this; 
which is altogether accidental, fome have divided 
it into many diftinét fpecies. 
Aa The 
