The BRITISH HERBAL. 
they arc deeply finuated at the edges, in the 
manner of many of the poppy kinds, and are 
pointed at the ends. 
The fl:,liks arc numerous, of a woody hardncfs, 
round, irregular in their growth, and fpreading. 
The leaves ftand at dillances on them, and 
are altogether unlike thofe from the root: they 
are fi.mple, of a cordatcd figure, and very white : 
they furround the ftalk at the bafe, and terminate 
in an obtufe point. 
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful yel- 
low. 
The feed-veffels arc I.irge and the feeds fmall. 
There is fomething in the difpofition of the 
flowers in this fpecies different from moft of the 
others : they (land in a long, flcndcr, and inter- 
rupted fpike. 
It i; frequent in Italy, and flowers in July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Vcrbafcmn mgrum foliisfa- 
pa-veris cornlculnti. J. Bauhine, Verhafmm crif 
pum et ladinaium. 
Mullein is a powerful reftringent ; and the com- 
mon, white kind poflefles the virtue in a greater 
degree than any other fpecies. 
The root dried and powdered is good in dy- 
fenterics : fifteen grains for a dofe. 
The juice of the leaves, boiled into fyrup with 
honey, is excellent in coughs and oiher dilorders 
of the lungs. 
The juice of the root, exprefled with red wine, 
is good againft overflowings of the menfes-, and 
alone it is a fovereign remedy in fpitting of blood. 
A pultice made of the tops and young leaves 
of mul'ein is excellent in the piles. 
There are the authority of confidcrable names 
for recommending the exprelTed juice of mullein 
in the tympajiy. The plant deferves a tryal in 
this cafe, which fo often foils the beft arrifl. 
The other fpecies probably poflcfs the fame 
virtues; but, it fcems by their talle, in a lefs 
degree. 
GENUS XXVI. 
M O T H tvl U L L E I N. 
B L AT i A R I A. 
THE Rower confills of a Tingle petal, divided into five fcgmcnts : the feed-velTd is round, and 
the cup is divided into five fliarp fegments. 
Linnxus places this among the pentandria moiiogyma, but he does not allow it to be a diftincE 
genus : he takes away its antient name, and makes it a fpecies of llerbafcum. The Englifh writers 
were fenfible that it was nearly allied to mullein or verbafcim, as appears by their naming it imth mul- 
kin ; but it differs evidently in the figure of the feed-veffel, which is round in this, and not in tmllein. 
The fpecies of each of thefe genera are numerous ; fo that there is confufion in joining them : too 
many of the botanical writers have confounded them already, calling feveral proper fpecies of vcrhaf- 
cum, blattaria, and thofe of blettaria, ■verbafctm : the effential diflinflion of tlie two genera being 
thus eflabliHied by the form of the capfule, I Iliall here feparate them, according to that charaftcr. 
DIVISION I. BR 
Moth Mullein. 
Blattaria vulgaris. 
The root is long, large, divided into feveral 
parts, and hung with a multitude of fibres. 
The firfl: leaves are long, narrow, and of a 
fhining green : they rile without footftalks, and 
fpread circularly upon the ground. 
The fl:alk riles in the centre, and is round, , 
firm, thick, upright, and two or three feet high. 
The leaves ftand irregularly on it ; they are 
fmall, and of the fame fliape and colour with 
ITISII SPECIES. ^ 
thofe from the root : they grow to the flalk by a 
broad bafe, and are fliarply ferrated. 
The flowers are very large and beautiful : they 
are of a gold yellow, and have purple buttons to 
the numerous threads in their centre. 
The feed-veflTel is large, and the feeds arc 
fmall. 
It is a wild plant with us, but not common. 
I have obferved it nearDenham in Buckingham- 
ffiire. It flowers in Auguft. 
C. Bauhine calls it Blattaria lutea join, hngo 
lacimato. 
DIVISION II. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
I. Purple Moth Mullein. 
Blattaria purpurea. 
The root is long and thick, divided, and 
hung with fibres. 
The firfl; leaves are large, numerous, and of 
jn oval figure : they have fcarce any footftalks, 
and Ipre.id upon the ground. 
1'he ftalks are numerous, round, thick, firm, 
upright, and a foot and half high, 
N9 9. 
The leaves fland irregularly on them, and are 
fhort, broad, of a dark green colour, and oval : 
they have no footfl;alks, and fometimes they are a 
little dented, fometimes quite undivided at the 
edges. 
The flowers fland in long fpikes, and they are 
large, and purple : their colour varies fr.->m the 
deepell violet to the piaineft red ; and from this, 
which is altogether accidental, fomc have divided 
it into many diftinft fpecies, 
A a The 
