154 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
The leaves are numerous, and very beautiful : 
they He upon the ground, and fpread chemfelves 
out every way from the head of the root, in form 
of a ftar : they are long, narrow, and deeply jag- 
ged at the edges; the jaggs are fo long that they 
have been fuppofed to give the leaf Ibme refcm- 
blance of the horn of a buck i whence its Eng- 
iilh name : they are of a pale green» and hairy. 
The ftalks are numerous, round, flender, and 
naked. 
The Bowers are fmall, but have confpicuous 
white buttons from their centre. 
Thefeed-veflel is fmall and oval, and the feed 
is very minute. 
The fiowers and fecd-vefTcis fland in fliori:, 
{lender fpikes. 
It is common in barren places, ar.d flowers in 
July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Coronopus fyhejlris hirfutior- 
Others, Coronopus-, and Cornu cervinum, or Finn- 
tag9 coronopus di£la. We, in Englifh, Bucks- 
horn plantain, and in fome places Star of the 
earth: bur this laft is an improper name, becaufe 
it has been alfo given to a very diifcrent plant, to 
be defcribed hereafter, and therefore will create 
con fu Hon. 
7. Little hairy Plantain. 
Plantago anguftifolia pumila incana. 
The root is large, irregular, oblong, and of a 
brown colour. 
The leaves are few, and fmall ; they rife in a 
little tuft, and are tolerably upright : they have 
no footrtalks : they are hairy, and of a pale green, 
ar.c 2^. broadeft in the middle, and narrower to 
the point, where they terminate fliarply. 
The ftalk is round, weak, naked, upright, and 
four inches high. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they ftand in 
a thick, fliort tuft at the top of the ftalk, and 
quickly fade. 
The feed-veflcis are oval, fmall, and fmooth, 
and the feeds are very fmall and blackiOi. 
It is frequent about the fea-coaftof Suflex, and 
fiowers in April. 
Ray calls it Plantago angufiifoUa minor. 
This little plant is fubjeit, like the others, to 
the variations of having a divided fpike, or a 
leafy top ; and they arife altogether from the 
fame caufe, the bitings of infects. This is an ac- 
cident that we fee produce ftrange appearances in 
many plants, from the oak to this meanelt of the 
plantain kind. 
The various excrefcences of the oak, the galls, 
oak-apples, and the like, are caufed only by the 
puncture of a fly. The rofe upon the willow, 
which is juft analogous to this upon the plantain., 
is alfo owing to the fame caufe j and foare innu- 
merable others. 
8. Narrow-leaved mountain Plantain. 
Pla7itago Jlpina angiiJiifoUa. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
a few fibres. 
2 
The leaves rife from numerous heads, into 
which the root fplits at the crown ; and are long, 
narrow, and of a pale green : they have no 
footftalks : they are broadeft in the middle, and 
fmall both at rhe bale and point, wlicre they ter- 
minate fliarply. 
The Halks are few, and very fmall : they arc 
not more than three inches high, round, flender, 
and green. 
The flowers are final!, and of a grcenifli white ; 
they ftand at the tops of the ftalks in a fmall, 
flender fpike. 
The feal-vcflcis are oval, and the feeds very 
fmall. 
It is common on the Welch mountains, and 
flowers in April. 
C. Bauhine calls it Plantago Alpina angujlifoUa. 
9. Hairy graflTy-leaved Plantain. 
Plantago fcliis gramineis hirjutis. 
The root is long, flender, w;hite, and furnifhed 
with a few threads. 
The leaves rife in a confiderable tuft ; and are 
fmall, of a greyifli green, and graffy ; they are 
broadeft at the bafe, narrower all the way to the 
point, and hairy. 
The ftalks are weak, round, and naked, and 
fupport little fpikes of flowers. 
The flowers themfelves are very fmall and whi- 
tifti, and the fpikes thick, ftiort, and roundifii. 
The feed-veflTel is roundilh, and the leeds arc 
fmall. 
It is common on the ifland of Sheepcy, and in 
other parts about the fea-coafts. It flowers in 
June. 
Ray. calls it Plantago gramineo folio hirfato wi- 
nm- capitulo rotundiore brevi. 
10. Single-flowered Plantain. 
Plantago monmilhes. 
The root is compofed of a great, number of 
fibres, which penetrate deep into the ground. 
The leaves rife in, a large tuft; and they are 
narrow, long, and grafly ; many lie on the 
ground, and a good number ftand up. 
Among thefe rife the ftalks : they are very mi- 
nute, flender, brown, and naked : they are not 
half an inch high ; each fuftains a Angle, flower, 
which is very fmall .and inconfiderable ; and from 
this rife four very long ftamina, with large, white 
buttons. 
The feed-vefici is fmall and oval, and the feeds 
are very minute. 
It is not uncommon in boggy places, though, 
from itsfmallncfs, little regarded. It flowers in 
June. 
This little plant has a variety of long names, 
Tournefort calls \t Plantago palilftris gramineo folio 
monanthos Parifienfis. Ray, Gramen Junceum., 
Jive holojleum minimum pahijire capiluUs quaiuor lon~ 
gifftmis Jlaminibus donatis. 
D I V I 
