l62 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
The plants which -have-five petals in the flower, and a lingle capfiile fucceeding, dilfcr fo far 
that fonie have thefe petals regular in their form and dilpofition, as Saint Johns luort and lychnis ■ 
others have them difpofed irregularly, as the viokl. The form and fafliion of thefe flowers differs 
fo much that they may be fafely arranged under two clafles ; and it is fo obvious that they will be 
eafily known, and never mifl:aken : Ibme have alfo the leaves in all the fpecies in pairs, and fome 
alternately and irregularly i this, [though lefs abfolute, yet is an obvious diflinction j and in a 
ufeful fyfl;em, will very well ferve as a claflical charafler. 
SERIES I. 
Natives of Britain. 
Thofe of which one or more fpecies are naturally wild in this country. 
G E N U S I. 
PINK. 
C A R T 0 P II 2" L L U S. 
.npHE flower confin-s of five petals, v/hich are regularly difplaycd, jagged at their broad ends, and 
very narrow at the bale, where they adhere to the receptacle : the cup is long, hollow, divided 
into five fegtncnts at the edge, and furrounded at the bafe with four little fcales, forming, as it 
were, a fmaller cup for it : the feed-velTel is oblong, cylindrick, and covered ; and fplits in four 
parts at the top. 
Linnsus places this among the decandria digynia ; the threads in each flower being ten, and cbe 
ftyle from the rudiment of the capfule divided into two parts. 
I have obferved before, that if the author had named his diftindions in this refpeifV, from the 
rudiment, rather than the ftyles rifing from it, his method would have been more natural : t\\z pink 
■would then have ftood among the jJw«c!_^jB/a, to wliich, beyond a doubt, it naturally belono-s ; the 
capfule, which is the true efiential female part, being fmgle. LinnL'eus calls this genus dianthus, 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
I. Maiden Pink; 
CaryophyUus virgineiis. 
The root is fmall, white, and creeping. 
The ftalks are numerous, flender, weak, and 
fpread upon the ground. 
They are full ot young fhoots, and thick co- 
vered with leaves: thofe ftalks which bear the 
flowers rife from thefe, and grow to five or fix 
inches high, or, in a favourable foil, higher. 
The leaves are very narrow, confiderably long, 
and oF a pale greyilh green : chey are fmall at the 
bife, and pointed at the end. 
The flowers are long, and of a bright red : 
they ftand fometimes fingly, one only at the top 
of the ftalk : but this is no certain mark ; for 
fometimes there grow two or three together. 
The feed-vefiel is oblong, and the feeds are 
fmall, rough, and black. 
It is found wild in our northern counties, and 
in fome other places; and flowers in June. It 
varies extreamly in fize according to the accidents 
attending its growth ; fo that fome have made 
out of it feveral fpecies. 
Authors call it CaryophyUus Virgineus. 
2. Broad-leaved Maiden Pink, 
CaryophyUus foliis latiorihus. 
The root is long, flender, white, and undi- 
vided. 
The ftalks are numerous, and he in part upon 
the ground, but thofe which fupport the flowers 
rife to four or five inches in height. 
The leaves are numerous, broad, ihort, and 
of a pale green : thofe which ftand toward the 
upper part of the ftalks near the flowers are nar- 
rower than the others, and longer; but even 
thefe are broader than thofe of the preceding 
fpecies. 
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful red : 
one ftands at the top of each ftalk. 
The feed-vefl*el is long and roundi/h : the feeds 
are numerous and rough. 
It is found on hills in our northern counties of 
England, and flowers in June. 
Ray calls it Armaria [pecks pre in fummo cauk 
fingulari. 
3. Com- 
