GALIUM VERUM. YELLOW LapiES-BEDSTRAW. 
Linn. Gen. Pl. 'ÜTETRANDRIA Monoeynia. 
Cor. monopetala, plana, Sem. duo, fubrotunda, 
Ra Syn. Gem, 12. HzRm& STELLAT &. 
"GALIUM verum foliis o&onis. linearibus fulcatis, ramis floriferis brevibus. Lin: Sy/t. Veg. ed. i4 
Murr. p.150. Sp. Pl. p. 155. 
GALIUM foliis linearibus, peranguftis, oétonis, racemis multifloris, fpicatis; Hall, Hif m. 716. 
Scop. Fl. Carm. a. 153. 
GALLIUM luteum. Bauh. Pim p. 335. Ger. em. 1126. Park. 565. Ram Syn. p. 924. Yellow 
Ladies-Bedftraw, or Cheefe-Rening. — Hudf. F7. Angi. ed. 2. p. 69. | 

RADIX perennis, repens, tenuis, fublignofa, lutea. — ROOT perennial, creeping, flender, fomewhat woody, 
| & of a yellow colour. 
STALK from one to two feet high, upright, flightly 
four-cornered, a little crooked, Jointed, rough, 
below flightly, above more obvioufly pube- 
{cent, of a pale green colour, branched to- 
wards the top; the joints cylindrical, fome- 
what ovate, whitifh, furrounded with a {light 
margin; Branches crofs-ways oppofite, the 
alternate ones much the fhorteft, betwixt up- 
right and fpreading, flower-bearing. 
FOLIA fubpollicaria, margini genicularum inferta, à LEAVES about an inch in length, inferted into the 
fefhlia, verticillata, reflexo-patula, linearia, 4 edge of the joints, feflile, whorled, fpread- 
obtufiufcula, fubmucronulata, bafi attenuata, * ing and fomewhat turned back, linear, blunt- 
margine utrinque revoluto, aculeifque minu- & ifh, with a flight point, narrowed at the bafe; 
tis oculo armato tantum confpicuis furfum ° the edge on each fide rolled back, and rough 
afpero, fupra rugofiufcula, obícure viridia, ; with minute prickles turned upwards, which 
nitentia, fubtus canaliculata, pallidiora, in- : are vifible only with a magnifier, above flightly 
feriora plerumque oGona, non raro dena, ; wrinkled, of a deep green colour, glofly, un 
fuperiora feptena, fena, quina, quaterna, fu- 4 derneath hollowed, of a paler colour, the low- 
prema terna, bina, et ad ultimos pedicellos ? ermoft growing ufually eight in a whorl, not 
fingula, unfrequently ten, the upper ones decreafing 
to 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and even 1 at the extre- : 
mities of the branches. 
FLOWERS growing in a panicle, numerous, fmall, 
yellow, fragrant with a peculiar odour. 
PANICLE compofed of the flowering branches, about 
a fpan in length, interrupted, branched, 
branches many-flowered, unequal, leafy, the 
| {mall leaves of the pedicles fingle. j 
CALYX fcarcely vifible, fg. 1. 
COROLLA monopetalous, wheel-fhaped, fpreading, 
without any claw, divided into four fegments, 
which are flat, a little turned back, diftant, 
oval, and pointed, jig. 2. 
STAMINA four capillary Firaments, upright, 
fhorter than the corolla; AnruEer# round- 
ifh, yellow, finally brownifh, jig. 9. | 
PISTILLUM: Gznwzw nearly round, double, flat- 
tened, fmooth; Srvrr deeply divided into 
two; STIGMATA two little heads, fg. 4, 5, 6. 
SEED-VESSEL : two, dry, globular 
BERRIES united together. 
SEEDS fingle, fomewhat kidney-fhaped and wrinkled. 
CAULIS pedalis, ad bipedalem, erectus, obfolete te: : 
tragonus, parum flexuofus, geniculatus, fca- 
ber, inferne minus fuperne magis pubefcens, 
pallide viridis, verfus fummitatem ramofus ; 
Genicula cylindracea, fubovata, albida, mar- 
gine tenui cincta; Rami brachiatim oppofiti, 
alterni multo breviores, patulo-ere&ti, floriferi. 
Co ate at nte nta ato e e e e 
a S 
Wenn D ue 
At 
Xt 
FLORES paniculati, numerofi, parvuli, flavi, pecu- 
lariodore fragrantes. 
PANICULA e ramis floriferis compofita, fpithamea, 
et ultra, interrupta, ramofa, ramis multifloris, 
inzequalibus, foliofis, foliolis pedicellorum 
folitariis. 
CALYX vix confpicuus, jg. 1. 
COROLLA monopetala, rotata, patens, ungue nulla ; 
laciniis quatuor, planis, fubreflexis, diftanti- 
bus, ovalibus, acutis, fig. 2. 
ase nte AT a e ee ahs e RE TEE TA T a I E ETE SE EI CR 
STAMINA: FitAMENTA 4, capillaria, erecta, co- 
rolla breviora; AN THERE rotundate, flavae, 
peracto officio fufcelle, f. 3. 
PISTILLUM: Germen fubrotundum, didymum, 
compreffum, glabrum; Srvrus profunde 
bipartitus; STIGMATA capitata, fig. 4, 5, 6. 
PERICARPIUM: Bacc due, ficce, globofz, coa- 
litae. 
SEMINA. folitaria, fubreniformia, rugofa. 
S An " S EK S Y t Y V vs 
AE AS HIE Ee Ae He He IA He ae EG E e ae eee 
Grows plentifully in the neighbourhood of London, in dry hilly paftures, and on the borders of fields, 
flowering 1n June, July, and Auguft. 
We have feen the foliage of this plant, when all the furrounding.herbage has been parched up, fupport the 
fineft verdure; perhaps on this account it may be cultivated to advantage on fuch lawns as are apt in dry 
feafons to ** difclofe an arid hue." 
An ingenious gentleman converfant in dying, affured me that it was a plant highly deferving of culture, as an 
article in that bufimefs ; for that the roots, though not fo large as thofe of Madder, produced a brighter colour, 
and that the whole of the herbage dyed a good yellow, in which refpe& it had the advantage over Madder. 
The flowers of this plant have a moderately ftrong, not difagreeable fmell, the leaves little or none: they 
both difcover to the tafie a fenfible acidity, which they manifeft alfo by changing the juices ot blue flowers to a 
red, and by coagulating boiling milk: they are faid to be in fome places commonly made ufe of in this laft 
intention, whence one of the common names of the plant Cheefe renner. Their acid matter appears to be (if 
BoRrRICHIUS's experiment is to be depended on) of a more fubtle kind than that of Sorrel, and than the other 
native vegetable acids that have been examined; the flowery tops committed to the {till as foon as gathered, 
giving over a pretty {trong acid liquor in a moderate heat, wherein Sorrel yielded only an. infipid phlegm. The 
reftringent and refrigerating virtues afcribed to this plant appear from thefe experiments to have fome founda- 
tion. Lewis's Mat. Med. 5. When it diffufes a ftronger odour than common, it denotes, according to Lozszr, 
rainy and tempeftous weather. 
This plant is fubje&t to a. difeafe, in which the ftem and branches are fet with flefhy balls, about the fize of a 
pea, hollow within, and covered with a purplifh fkin, Wurnerine. 
