The BRITISH HERBAL. 
121 
G E N U S X. 
YELLOW RATTLE. 
RUINANTHUS, 
THF. flower conflfls of a fingle petal, and approaches to the bbiated kind : it is formed into A 
tube and two lips : the tub is ftrait : the lips are comprefled at the bafe ; and the upper one is flat- 
ted, and of the gale^ted iliape : the under hp is flat, and divided into three fegments, of which ths 
middle one is the longed : the cup is roundifli, fwelied, as if blown up, and divided into four parts 
at the edge ; the feed-veffel is rounded, and comprefled or flatted ; and the feeds alfo arc flatted. 
LinnsTis places this among the didyfiamia angiofpermia; the filaments or threads in each flowef 
being four, two of which are longer, and two fhorter, and the feeds contained in a capfule. 
We have obfervcd that this genus and the pcdicularis have been always called by the fame Ertglifll 
names. We have fliewn the impropriety of this, by obferving that the epithets of diainftion taken 
from the colour of the flower are not fufficient for the feparacion of the two genera, there being one 
that is properly of the former, the flower of which is yellow : by the character of the prefent genus 
here given, it will appear that they are quite diftindl: 1 have therefore retained the name 
Rbinanthus, as it is ufeful for the diftinilion, and appropriated the two Englifh names diftinaively, 
giving that of coxccmb only to the preceding genus, and- that of rattle only to this. 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
I. Common yellow Rattle. 
Rhinanthus vulgaris. 
The root is fliort, flender, crooked, hard, 
and furniflied with many fibres. 
The ftalk is round, firm, upright, of a yel- 
lowiOi green, a foot high, and branched toward 
the Cop. 
The leaves fliand in pairs ; they are oblong, 
broad, and have no footfl:alks : they are broadeil 
at the bafe, narrower to the end, fliarply in- 
dented at the edges, and terminate in a point; 
thefr colour is a dufliy green, and their fublfance 
firm. 
The flowers are numerous, and have a Angular 
appearance : they ftand in long feries up the tops 
of the fl:alks, and principally on one fide: they 
have a great ftriated cup, like a bladder: the 
fiower itfelf is fmall, and of a bright yellow. 
The feed vefiil is large, rounded, and flatted i 
and the feeds are flat and brown. 
It is common in pafl;ures, and flowers in June. 
C. Bauhine calls it Pedicularis fratenfis lutea 
Jeu crijla galli. Others, Crijta galli lulca^ and 
Q'ifia gain famina. We in Englifh, T'ellcw rattle, 
or Coxcomb. 
Thofe who call this the female, diftinguifli 
what they call another fpecies under the name 
of the male, but it is only a variety : the prin_ 
cipal difl^erence is the ftature; the male, as it i$ 
called, growing in a more favourable ground, 
and bi:ing taller. 
2. Narrow-leaved yellow Rattle. 
Rhinanihus foliis angufiioribus. 
The root is long, flender, crooked, and fur- 
niflied with a multitude of fibres. 
The fl:alk is round, firm, upright, and very 
much branched, and is ufually of a rediOi colour. 
The leaves are numerous : they ftand in pairs, 
but at fmaller diftances by much than in the com- 
mon kind : they are very narrow, and fliarp!/ 
dented at the edges ; of a pale green, and not fo 
broad at the bafe as in the other. 
The flowers ftand in a long feries on the upper 
branches, and are beautifully variegated, though 
very fmall : the top of the flower is yellow, and 
the upper lip is purple. 
The whcle plant is two foot high, and vcr/ 
robuft. 
The feed-vefl"els are long and flat j and the 
feeds are alfo flat, but fniall. 
It is frequent in pafturcs in the north of Eng- 
land i and flowers in Auguft. 
C. Bauhine calls it Crijla galli anguJiifoUa mon^ 
tarn. Ray, Pedtculis major angujiifclia ramojijfma 
fiore mincre luteo, labello purpireo. 
DIVISION n. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
Hairy yellow Rattle. 
Rhinanihus foliis vilofis. 
This is a fmall but Angular and pretty plant. 
The root is longifli, crooked, flender, and full 
of fibres. 
The ftalk is round, flender, upright, of a 
redifh colour, and eight inches high. 
The leaves fl:and in pairs, at diftance, pair from 
pair: they have no footftalks, and they are nar- 
12. 
row, oblong, not at all indented at the edges, 
and a litulp hairy. 
The flowers ftand at the tops of the flalks, and 
have ftriated and fwollen cups. 
The feed-veflel is flatted, but of a rounded- 
figure ; and the feeds are large. 
It is a native of Ceylon, and flowers in May. 
Burman calls it Hyjfopus zeylatma temllus pra-% 
tenfis : but it is evidently a plant of this genus. 
I i GENUS 
