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BETONY. 



Betonica officinalis. Xat. Ord., Labiatee. 



UE, plant is in some works called 

 the wood betony, to distinguish 

 it from another plant, the water 

 betony. This latter, however, 

 the Scrojjhularia aquatica, is only 

 so called from the similarity in 

 form of the leaves of the two 

 plants; it has no real relationship 

 to the subject of our illustration, 

 which is for all practical pur- 

 poses Ihe betony pure and simple. 

 It is in Wales the Cribau St. 

 Fraid. 



The betony is very abundantly 

 met with throughout England, but 

 appears to be by no means so 

 common in Scotland. It should be 

 searched for in woods and copses 



during June and July, and it may occasionally be met 

 with in more open situations, as amongst the tangled 

 growths sometimes found on heath and moorland. It was 

 held in high repute in the Middle Ages, from its value 

 corporally and spiritually, being largely cultivated in the 

 herb gardens of the monasteries, and pieces of it were 

 worn round the neck as a charm and protection against 

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