FIG-WORT TRIBE 



219 



V. agrestis varies considerably, especially in the shape of the 

 sepals and size and colour of the corolla, and two of the more dis- 

 tinct forms have been named. V. polita. — Rounded sepals ; 

 corolla large and blue ; leaves small. V. opaca. — Sepals spoon- 

 shaped ; seeds few. 



13. V. Buxhaumii (Buxbaum's Speedwell). — Not unlike the last, 

 but a stouter plant, with large blue flowers on pedicles longer than 

 the leaves ; capsules sharply keeled, twice as broad as long. Culti- 

 vated ground ; common. Probably introduced with agricultural 

 seeds at some time. — Fl. all the summer. Annual. 



14. V. arvensis (Wall Speedwell). — A smiall plant, with incon- 

 spicuous light blue flowers, which are almost concealed among the 

 upper leaves or iracts ; loxoer leaves egg-shaped, heart-shaped at the 

 base, crenate, stalked ; upper leaves sessile, longer than the flowers. 

 The whole plant is downy, and a great collector of dust. Walls and 

 fields ; common. — Fl. April to September. Annual. 



15. V. verna (Vernal Speedwell). — A small plant, 2-3 inches 

 high, much resembling the last, but distinguished 



by its leaves being cut into 3-7 pinnatifid lobes. 

 Sandy fields in Norfolk and Suffolk. — Fk May to 

 July. Annual. 



16. V. triphyllos (Finger - leaved Speedwell). — A 

 rare species, distinguished by its 3-7 fingered leaves 

 and loose racemes of a few dark blue flowers. Sandy 

 places in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Yorkshire. — Fl. April 

 to July. Annual. 



14. Verbascum {Mtillein) 



1. V. Thapsus (Great Mullein). — A stout herba- 

 ceous plant with a simple or branched stem, 2-5 

 feet high, remarkable for its large flannel-like leaves, 

 woolly on both sides, running down the stem. The 

 flowers are yellow, and borne in dense club-shaped 

 spikes. Two of the 5 stamens are longer than the 

 rest, and hairy ; the remaining 3 are smooth. This 

 plant, together with Foxgloves, is a picturesque 

 object if planted broadly in the wilder parts of a 

 garden. — Fl. July, August. Biennial. 



2. V. Blattaria (Moth Mullein). — A tall, some- 

 what slender plant, simple or branched, smooth or 

 nearly so, with shining, crenate leaves, the lower ones (Great Mullein) 

 stalked, often lobed at the base, those half-way up 



the stem sessile, and the upper ones clasping or running down the 

 stem ; flowers large and handsome, yellow or sometimes white, in 



