ETONICA OFFICINALIS. 



COD 



TONY. 



BETONICA Lin. Gen. PL DidynAMIa Gymnospermia Cal ar&attis» 'Corolla lab. fnper. adfcendens, 



planiufculum ; 'Tubus cylindricus. 



Raii Syn. Gen. 14. Suffrutices et Herb^e Verticillat^ 

 BETONICA officinalis fpica interrupta, corollarum lacinia labii intermedia emargmata, Lin. Spec. PL 



p. 810. PL Suecic. n. 515. 

 BETONICA foliis petiolatis, imis cordatis, furJerioribus ovatis, crenatis, fpica brevi, foliis infidente* 



Halkr Hl/l. n. 264. 

 BETONICA officinalis Scopoli PL CarnioL p. 422. 

 BETONICA purpurea. Bauhin pin* 

 BETONICA vulgaris flore purpureo Parkinfon. p. 238. Gerard ' emac. 7 14. Rail Syn. p. 238. Wood-Betony* 



Hud/on. PL Angl. ed. 2. 



Lightfoot FL Scot, p, 311. 



I nifhed with numerous, long, whitifh, tough* 



y fibrous firings* 



CAULIS pedalis aut ultra, erectus, plerumque fimplex, ¥ STALKS a foot or more in height, upright, generally 



in hortis ramofus. tetragon us. anp-nlis oh- J. -fimnle, in o-^rlpnc hrin^orl f n -n*. r^^m^SA 



in hortis ramofus, tetragonus, angulis ob- | 



tufis, lateribus duobus magis excavatis, fca- ¥ 



briufculus pilis rigidulis, deorfum verfis, | 



fub appreffis, geniculatus, genieulis fuperne y 



remotis. 



fimple, in gardens branched, four-corner'd, 

 the corners obtufe, and two of the fides more 

 deeply _ hollowed than the others, roUghifh, 

 the hairs, fomewhat rigid, turning down- 

 ward and prefs'd towards the ftalk, jointed, 

 the joints near the top of the ftalk removed 

 far from each other. 

 LEAVES next the root ftanding oil long footfhlks, 

 of an oblong heart-maped figure, bluntly 

 notched, obtufe, veiny and fomewhat wrink- 

 led, covered with few hairs, but dotted all 

 over with fmall hollow points, the edge fring- 

 ed with hairs, thofe on the Jl all, oppofite, 

 narrower, and rather ferrated than crenated, 

 hanging down, the edges generally curled 

 % back. 



FLORES purpurei, fpicati. $ FLOWERS purple, growing in a fpike. 



SPICA terminalis, oblonga^e plurimis verticillis _ fef- | SPIKE terminal, oblong, compofed of feveral fertile 

 filibus, apnroximatis comnofita. inferioribus I clofe whirls fh,* I™™*.-™ «A „c„?u:„u „^^ .^n. 



FOLlA radicalia longe petiolata, oblongo-cordata, ere- | 



nata, obtufa, venofo-rugofa, fubnuda, undi- f 



que minutim punctata, punctis excavatis, ? 



margine ciliata, caulina oppofita, angufiiora, I 



potius ferrata quam crenata, reflexa, margi- % 



nibus faepius revolutis, j 



filibus, approximatis compofita, inferioribus * 

 faepius remotis. 



clofe whirls, the lowermoft of which are moil: 

 commonly remote from the others, 



«a.^x„„ .^uu < + Lummumj lemoue rrom tne otners» 



BRACTE^E plunmae, verticillis fubjectae, lanceolate, j BRACTiE numerous, placed under each whirl, Ian 



calyce paulo brevlores. 



CALYX: Perianthium tubulatum, interne villofum, % 



turbinatum, quinquedentatum, ariftatum, | 



perfiftens. jig. i. % 



% 



ceolate, and a little fhorter than the Calyx. 

 CALYX : a Perianthium tubular, internally villous, 

 broadeft at top, having five teeth, which ter- 

 minate in five long points, and are permanent. 

 fig. i. 



COROLLA monopetala, tubus incurvus, infra glaber, * COROLLA monopetalous ; the tube bending inwards, 

 albus, fupra purpureus, extus et intus pubef- | below fmooth and white, above purple, downy 



cens, calyce longior, Labium fuperius fubro- | both within and without, and longer than 



tundum, integrum, planum, erefturn, infe- % the calyx ; the upper Lip roundifh, entire 



nus tnfidum ; lacinula media latiori, fubro- | flat, and upright, the lower one divided into 



tunda, emarginata. fig. 2. f three fegments, the middle one of which is 



I broader than the others, roundifh with a 



_ JimT1 __ * notch in the middle. /%-. 2. 



STAMINA: Filamenta quatuor, fubulata, alba, \ STAMINA: four Filaments, tapering white and 



pubefcentia tubo longiora, quorum duo in- | downy, longer than the tube, of which the 



fenora paulo breviora ; Antherje e rubro | two lowermoft are fomewhat the fhorteft • 



purpurafcentes, bilobae, lobis fubrotundis. % Antherje of a reddiih purple colour, com- 



niwiTT&^ I pofed of two roundifh lobes, fir. 2. 



PISTILLUM : Germen quadripartitum ; Stylus fub- | PISTILLUM : Germen divided into four parts ; Style 



ulatus, albidus, glaber, ftaminibus paulo t «.«*«.4-««. m i*:*:A. r. ^ >,_. 1 * 1 



longior: Stigma bifidum, /?p\ 4. 6. 

 NECTARIUM ./£. 5. 

 SEMINA quatuor, fufca, glabra, triquetra, latere ex- 



teriore convexo, interiofe gibbofo. fig. y. 





tapering, whitifh, fmooth, fomewhat longer' 



than the Stamina; Stigma bifida fa. 4., 6. 

 NECTARY fig. 5. 6 



SEEDS four, brown, fmooth, three corner'd, the 



outermoft fide convex the innermoft gibbous. 



fig- 7' 



A ^ T1 K°^iV S ^ U v SA A P ^ flci T an 1 t0 the Em P e / 01 ' AuGUSTU * wrote an entire book on tins plant, whence it be- 

 gan to be held in inch efteem in Italy as to occafion the Proverb vende la tonka et comtra la Betonica that is fell 

 your coat and buy Betony and when they wifhed to extol a perfon they would fay tu Li piu virtu, che non ha la 

 Betonica,. you have more virtues than Betony. Matth. in Diofcor. p. 943. Rail Hill p ceo 



The leaves and flowers of Betony have an herbaceous roughifh fomewhat bitterifh tafte accompanied with a very 

 weak aromatic flavour. This herb has long been a favourite among writers on the Materia Medica who have not b-en 

 wanting to attribute to it abundance of good qualities. Experience does not difcover any other virtue in Betony 

 than that of a mild corroborant ; as/uch, an infufion or light decodion of it may be drank as tea, or a faturated 

 tindture in reftiiied fpmt given in fuitable doles, in laxity and debility of the vifcera, and diforders proceeding from 

 thence. The powder of the leaves, (huffed up the nofe, provokes fneezing, and hence Betony is Wlmes made 

 an ingredient m fternutatory "powders : thts effed does not feem to be owing, as is generally fnppofed to any pecu- 

 liar Simulating quality in the herb but to the rough hairs which the leaves are cover'd with. The roots of this 

 plant diiter greatly m quality from the other parts : their tafte is bitter and very naufeous : taken in a fmall dofe 

 they vomit and purge violently, and are fuppofed to have fomewhat in common with the roots of Hellebore 

 Lewis s Dijp. p. 103. 



Betony grows abundantly in all our woods, about Town, and on feme of the Heaths, flowering in Tuk, An- 

 guit and beptember. & J •" 



Ray obferves that is is fometimes found with white and fometlmes with flefhcolour'd blofToms, 



