The B R I T I S 
lightly finuated, often waved, and otherwife ir- 
regular. 
There are alfo other varieties of this plant, 
which have been defcribed and figured as parti- 
cular fpecies. What is called rofe-flantain, is this 
fpecies with clufters of fmall leaves growing on 
the ftalk in form of a rofe, and is owing to the 
panfliire of an infeifl, which perverts the courfe 
of the juice. The feveral other varieties of it, and 
of the other fpecies, as the befom plantain^ and 
the reft, are only varieties, rifing from the fame 
accident. 
2. Rough, broad-leaved Plantain. 
Plantago latifolia hirfuta. 
The root is compofed of numerous, large fibres. 
The leaves rife in a thick tuft ; and are broad, 
large, and of a whitifh colour : they are of an 
oval (liape, broidefl: near the bafe, growing 
gradually Irnaller to the end ; and their ribs run 
lengthwife, and are very confpicuous. 
The ftalks rife among the leaves in confider- 
able number : they are a foot high, of a whitifli 
cdlojjr, hairy, and not very firm. 
The flowers are fmall and whitifh, and they 
Hand at the tops of the ftalks in Ihort and thick 
fpikes, not in long, flender ones, as in the for- 
mer kind. 
It is common in paftures, and flowers in May. 
C. Bauhine calls it Plantago latifolia incana. 
Others, Plantago major incana. We, Hoary 
plantaifjy or Lambs tongue. 
3. Narrow-leaved Plantain. 
Plantago angiiftifolia vulgaris. 
The root is thick, fliort, divided into feveral 
parts, and furniOied with many fibres. 
The leaves are numerous, and have no foot- 
ftalks : they arc long, narrow, and of a deep 
green, broadeft toward the middle, and ftiarp at 
the point, 
Their ribs run lengthwife, as in the others, and 
are very large and confpicuous. 
The ftalks arc numerous, tough, upright, na- 
ked, ftriaced, and ten inches high. 
The flowers are fmail, and ftand at the top of 
each ftalk in a fliort, thick fpike. 
The fced-vcfl'els are fmall and oval, and the 
feeds very minute and brown. 
It is common every where by way-fides, and 
flowers all fummer. 
C. Bauhine calls it Plantago major angujlifolia. 
Others, Plantago qttinpienervia. We, Ribmrt 
plantain. 
It varies extremely in ilze, according to the 
degree of nourifhment it receives ; and hence the 
common writers have defcribed a larger and 
fmaller kind ; but this is only variation from ac- 
cident, no diftinction of fpecies. 
This is alfo liable to the fame accidental varia- 
tions as the broad-leaved kind, from the difl:urbed 
current of the juice ; and by this its top will be 
covered with leaves, or its fpike varioufly al- 
tered. 
Thefe are no more than varieties perfedlly ac- 
cidental ; but as they are Angular in their kind, 
they are reprefented in the annexed plate. 
N" XVI. 
H HERBAL. 
4. Little, annual, broad-leaved Plantain. 
Plantago latifolia annua paria. 
The root confifts of a few fibres. 
The leaves are numerous, and fpread upon the 
ground : they are broad and (liort ; they approach 
to an oval figure, and have very high veins : 
they are finuated at the edge, but lightly and ir- 
regularly, and terminate in a (harp point. 
The ftalks are numerous, round, firm, and 
about three inches high : they have no leaves on 
them, and are of a pale green. 
The flowers ftand in long and flender fpikes at 
the top of each ftalk. 
The feed-veficls are large, and the feeds very 
fmall. 
It is not uncommon in d.imp places on heaths; 
where it is generally overlooked, being confi- 
dcred only as a ftarved plant of the common 
kind, or as an accidental variety ; but it is truly 
diftinft. 
C. Bauhine calls it Plantago latifolia glabra mi- 
nor; and moft others dcfcribe it under the name 
of Plantago minor ; but they confound with this, 
which is entirely diftinft, the accidental variety 
of the common plantain, when only fmaller from 
want of nourifhment. 
Difference in fize alone is no mark of a dirtinft 
fpecies ; but, joined with others, it aflills. 
Authors defcribe alfo a kind of hoary plantain, 
under the name of the fmaller. Plukcnet calls 
it Plantago noflras latifolia minor incana trinervis ; 
but this is nothing more than an accidental variety 
of the. common hoary plantain, all the parts being 
the fame, though fmaller, and the plant rifing 
to its full ftationjn better ground. 
£. Sea-Plantain. 
Plantago marina. 
The root is long, flender, undivided, and fur- 
niflied with a few fibres. 
The leaves are numerous, long, and narrow ; 
they rife in a thick tuft, and ftand tolerably up- 
right, only a few of the outcrmoft lying upon the 
ground. They have no footftalks: they are broadell 
at the bafe, narrower all the way to the point 
and fometimes a little notched at the edges, but 
this very irregularly. 
The ftalks rife among thefe leaves in great 
number : they are four or five inches high, and 
have at their top a fpike of flowers very flender, 
and three or four inches in lengtii ; fo that the 
whole height is eight or ten inches : the ftalks are 
naked, and the flowers in the fpikes are very fmall. 
The feed-veflels alfo are fmall, and oval ; and 
the feeds very minute. 
It is common in our falt-marfties, and elfe^ 
where about the fea-coafts, and flowers in June. 
C. Bauhine calls it Plantago maritinia major. 
Others, Plantago marina •vulgaris, and Coronopits 
marinas. We, Sea-plantain, or Sea iucks-hora 
plantain. 
S. Bucks-horn Plantain. 
Plantago foliis incijis. 
The root is long, flender, undivided, and fur- 
niflied with many fibres. 
R r The 
