122 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
GENUS XI. 
EYEBRIGHT. 
EUPHRASIA. 
THE flower confills of a fingle petal, and approaches very much to the hibiatcd (hape : it is 
formed into a tube and two lips ; the tube is fhorc and plain : the upper lip is hollow and in- 
dented ; the lower lip is divided into three fegmcnts, and thefe are equal in lize, and obtufc : the cup 
is compofed of a fingle piece, divided into four unequal fegmentS; and the&cd-veiiol is oblong, oval, 
""unhEuT peaces this among his didyiiamU anghfpermia ; the flowers having four threads, two longer, 
and two Iliorter ; and the feeds bring contained in a capfule. -J 
DIVISION I. 
BRITISH SPECIES. 
t. Common Eyebright. 
Euphrafm -Mlgaris. 
The root is long, white, flender, and fur- 
niflied with numerous fibres. 
The fl:aik is round, firm, ereft, of a deep 
green, very much branched, and eight inches 
high. 
The leaves are placed in pairs, and they have 
no footftalks : they Hand very thick, and they 
are fliort, broad, deeply ferrated, and of a very 
dark orcen, but of a bright and flefliy furface. 
The flowers are large, and white, variegated 
with a few dots : they Hand in the bofoms of the 
leaves, principally toward die tops of the ftalks, 
and are very pretty ; their bright whitenefs, and 
the deep green of the refl: of the plant, making 
a pretty contrafl: to one another. 
The feed-veffel is oblong, and the feeds are 
very fmall. 
It is common in our hilly meadows, and 
flowers in Auguft. 
C. Bauhine calls it Etifhrajia cficinarmn. O- 
tkrs, Eufhrafia -vulgaris, or, fimply, Euphrafm. 
' Eyliright is famous againfl: difordcrs of the 
eyes. 
In common inflammations of the eyes the cuf- 
ftom is to ufe the frefh expreffed juice by way of 
a collyrium, walhing them twice a day with it, 
and wearing a piece of filk over them. 
In worfc difordtrs the whole herb, dried and 
powdered, and taken for many months, half a 
dram twice a day, is recorded to have done great 
fcrvice. There are accounts that feem well at- 
tefted of people refl:ored to fight by it. The 
diHiUed water is recommended by fome for the 
fame purpofcs, but that has little virtue. 
^. Purple Eyebright. 
Eitphrafw fore rubra. 
The root is fliort, crooked, woody, whitifli, 
and furniliied with a few fibres. 
The ftalk is round, firm, upright, of a 
purplifli colour, confiderably branched, and eight 
or ten inches high. 
The leaves Hand in pairs, and are very fre- 
quent upon the fl:alk, except toward the bottom, 
where for three inches it is generally naked : 
they are iongifli, narrow, fharply ferrated at the 
edges, and pointed at the ends : they have no 
footfl:alks, and are at firft of a browniili green 
colour, and afterwards brownifh or redifli, with 
very little green : the whole plant, when it has 
flood fome time, frequently becomes purple. 
The flowers are fmall, and of a dulky red : 
they are very numerous, and fl:and in the bo- 
foms of the leaves all the way up the fl:alk. 
The feed-veflTel is oblong, and larger at one 
end than the other : the feeds are very fmall and 
brown. 
It is frequent in dry pafliures, and on barren 
and heathy ground. It flowers in July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Euphrafm prctenfis ruhra^ 
J. Bauhine, Euphrafm pari'o purpurea ; and the 
common writers, Crateogmon eupkrofne-y fup- 
pofing fome refemblance in it to the cow-wheat, 
to be hereafter defcribed : It is alfo CiTlled in Eng- 
lifli, Eyebright cow-ivhsat. 
3. Short leaved Eyebright. 
Euphrafta foliis brevibus. 
The root is long, flender, and furnifhed with 
numerous fibres. 
The fl:alk is round, upright, and hard, but 
brittle : it is very much branched, and eight or 
ten inches high, of a purplifli colour ufually, 
fometimes of a pale green, and a little hairy. 
The leaves are placed in pairs, and have no 
footflialks ; they are broad, fliort, and indented 
fliarply at the edges : their colour is an afli or 
greyifli green, but they have a glofly fubftance, 
like thofe of the common eyebright. 
The flowers are fmall, and of a deep purple : 
they grow from the bofoms of the leaves all the 
way up the flalks from the middle to the top. 
The feed-veflels are oblong, and largell at the 
bafe; and the feeds axe large and whitifli. 
It is a native of our northern counties, but 
is not common. 
C. Bauhine calls it I'eucrium aJpimm coma pur- 
pura caruka. Ray, Euphrafia rubra^ falus bre- 
vibus obtufis. 
4. Great-leaved Eyebright. 
Kuphrafia major latifolia. 
The root is l^ng, flender, white, and fur- 
niflied with a few fibres. 
The ftalk is round, upright, firm, and a foot 
high : 
