V E R 



V E R 



forae of the lowermoft four, five, or fix together, the reft 

 folitary, as are all thofe of the weaker branches. Flower- 

 ficdks hairy and vifcid, feldom fo long as the calyx, whofe 

 fegments are lanceolate, acute, and glandular. Filaments 

 bearded with purple. Anthers uniform. 



31. V. Blattaria. Moth Mullein. Linn. Sp. PI. 254. 

 Willd. n. 10. Fl. Brit. n. 6. Engl. Bot. t. 393. ( Blat- 

 taria flore luteo ; Ger. Em. 778.) — Leaves oblong-lanceo- 

 late, acute, fmooth, ferrated ; lower ones bluntifh, tapering 

 at the bafe, or ftalked. Stem branched, racemofe. Flower- 

 ilalksmuch longer than the brafteas. — Native chiefly of the 

 fouthern parts of Europe, rare in England, flowering in 

 July. Root tapering, annual. Stem three or four feet 

 high, leafy. Leaves much narrower, and more deeply fer- 

 rated or notched than in the laft, the upper ones becoming 

 gradually more pointed, and fmaller, to the bottom of the 

 long fimple cluflers, where they are replaced by a fmall, fo- 

 litary, lanceolate bradea under each Jloiuer-Jlalk, as in V. 

 trijle and phcenlceum. The corolla is fmaller than the lall, 

 bright yellow, more or lefs ftreaked with purple. Filaments 

 clothed with purple hairs : fometimes the corolla feems to 

 become purplifli all over. 



A fuppofed variety, with large white Jiotuers, marked 

 partially with purplirfi-brown at the back, is common in 

 gardens ; coming up from feed, and remaining unaltered, 

 through many fucceffive years. This is Blattaria alba, 

 Bauk. Pin. 241, but we can difcover no fpecific difference 

 between it and the wild or cultivated yellow-flowered kind. 



32. V . fpinofum. Thorny Mullein. Linn. Sp. PI. 254. 

 Amoen. Acad. v. 4. 307. Willd. n. 16. Vahl Symb. 

 V. 2. 39. Sm. Fl. Grac. Sibth. t. 229. (Leucoium fpi- 

 nofum creticum ; Cluf. Hift. 299. Ger. Em. 459. L. 

 fpinofum cruciatum ; Alpin. Exot. 37. t. 36. Galaftivida 

 prima di Candia ; Pon. Bald. 114.) — Stem leafy, fhrubby, 

 much branched, fpinous. Leaves all ftalked, hoai-y Na- 

 tive of the higher mountains of Crete ; a ftranger in our 

 gardens, even by name. This differs widely from all the 

 reft, in its hardy, ftirubby, bulhy ^em, a foot high, whofe 

 very compound branches harden at their points into fmooth 

 rigid thorns. Leaves crowded, an inch or inch and half 

 long, oblong, obtufe, deeply toothed, downy and white 

 on both fides : contrafted at the bafe into the footjlalks. 

 Flowers fcattered, ftalked, lateral and terminal, yellow, 

 hardly above half an inch broad. Stamens orange -coloured. 

 Calyx obtufe. Capfule fmall, villous. 



Two other fpecies, mentioned by Linnseus, remain to be 

 noticed; V. OJbeckii, and V. Myconi, Linn. Sp. PI. 255. 

 The former we have fhewn to be the Triguera of Cava- 

 nilles (fee that article) ; nor does it anfwer to the charaAers 

 of a Verbafcum. The latter, figured in Curt. Mag. t. 236, 

 an elegant, herbaceous, ftemlefs plant, long known in our 

 gardens, appears to be the Ramondia of Schrader and others, 

 as we have mentioned in our remarks fubjoined to the gene- 

 ric charafter of the prefent genus, from which this fpecies 



rauft, doubtlefs, be excluded Willdenow has a V. Ba- 



madejii, adopted from Vahl's Symb. v. 2. 39, and compared 

 with V. OJbeciii. With this we are quite unacquainted. 



From the prefent view of Verbafcum, more complete 

 than any that has hitherto been given, and yet fo far from 

 perfeft, the reader may chiefly learn that no certain limits 

 have as yet been found for many of the fpecies of this genus, 

 while others, apparently much alike, remain permanent and 

 diftinft. To fix them all, a long courfe of experiment, by 

 crofs impregnation, would be neceflary. 



Verbascum, in Gardening, furnifhes plants of the hardy, 

 annual, biennial, and perennial kinds, among which the 

 fpecies cultivated are, the annual mullein (V. boerhaavii) ; 



the moth mullein (V. blattaria) ; the great mullein (V. 

 thapfus) ; the woolly mullein (V. phlomoides) ; the white 

 mullein (V. lychnitis) ; the fcollop-leaved mullein (V. finua- 

 tum) ; therufty mullein (V. ferrugineum) ; the purple mul- 

 lein (V. phoeniceum) ; and the borage-leaved mullein {V. 

 myconi). 



In the firft fort the flowers have an agreeable fcent at a 

 little diftance ; but if fmelt too long, or too near, it 

 becomes lefs pleafant. 



The fecond fort has yellow flowers, which are ftreaked 

 more or lefs with purple, and is very ornamental, flowering 

 from July to November, or even later in mild weather. 



It varies with white flowers. 



The third fort has a biennial root, and the flowers are of 

 a bright yellow colour, and fometimes, but rarely, white 



The fifth fort is remarkable for its ftraight wand-Hke an- 

 gular ftem, and cream-coloured flowers, which are produced 

 in great numbers in a compound cluftered terminating ra- 

 ceme. Sometimes the colour of the flowers is yellov/^. 



The ninth fort has the flowers large in proportion to the 

 fize of the plant, of ablueifli-purple colour, and highly or- 

 namental, fomewhat like the auricula, appearing in May, 

 and continue fucceflively in bloflbm for feveral months. It 

 is a defirable plant to cultivate, efpecially for decorating 

 rock-work. 



Method of Culture Thefe plants may all be increafed 



by feeds, and offsets taken from the roots. 



The well-ripened feeds fliould be fown in the autumn, or 

 early fpring, in a bed of light mould, or in the borders or 

 other parts where they are to remain, covering them lightly 

 in. When the plants are up a few inches in height, in the 

 bed method, they fliould be removed into nurfery rows till 

 the autumn, when they muft be removed to where they are 

 to remain. 



The annual fort is, however, beft fown at once where the 

 plants are to grow, which is beft done in patches. 



The off^sets of all the perennial forts fliould be taken off 

 in the autumn, or very early in the fpring, and be planted 

 out where they are to grow. This is better than afterwards 

 tranfplanting them. 



They are all hardy plants, that fucceed in almoft any 

 common foil and expofure, in borders, &c. 



They afford a good effeft in their different foliage, modes 

 of flowering, and fweet fcent of their flowers, in the large 

 borders, clumps, and other parts of pleafure -grounds ; the 

 larger forts being placed backwards in them. 



VERBELIET, in Geography, a town of Hungary ; 

 6 miles S.W. of Erlau. 



VERBENA, in Botany, among the Romans, was the 

 name of fome evergreen aromatic flirub, efteemed facred, 

 and employed in various foiemn ceremonies. Hence it was 

 called Hierobotar.e, and Herba facra. Some derive Verbena 

 from verro, to fweep, or clean fe ; becaufe the plant might 

 be ufed for cleaning the altars or temples : others from ffer- 

 ^bena, corrupted from herba bona, or good herb. But thefe 

 rather prove that no good Latin etymology was to be 

 found. De Thcis gives a much better, and indeed a direft, 

 derivation of the word, from Bullet's Di8ionaire Celtique, 

 where the Celtic name of the plant is faid to be Ferfasn, 

 whence comes, ftill lefs changed, its Englifli appellation. 

 Vervain. The Roman flirub, above alluded to, is fome- 

 times thought to have been our Rofemary, which could 

 hardly be the Celtic plant ; and we muft rely on tradition, 

 which has handed down our Common Vervain, the Linnasan 

 Verbena, with much fuperftitious celebrity, even to the pre- 

 fent day, as the Ferfaen of our barbarous anceftors. It 

 ftill, from time to time, makes the fortune of quacks and 



village 



