i84 The BR ITISH HERBAL. 
DIVISION II. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
Long-leavcd Ceraftium. 
Ccrajtium angnjlifoHitm vafculo longo. 
The root is fmall and white, furnifhed with a 
few fibres, and infipid to the taftc. 
The dalle is fingle, upright, and five inches 
high ; ic is hairy, and of a pale green : it fends 
out no branches, but at the cop tt divides, and 
fpreads into a large head. 
The leaves are narrow and long; they ftand 
in pairs, and the joints whence they rife are 
marked by a knot, and a Jittle fwelled : the ftalk 
alfo frequently bows from joint to joint. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they fcarce 
open perfeiftly ; one generally ftands at the top of 
the main ftalk, whence the principal branches 
that form the head rife ; the others are placed 
on thofe branches which rife much higher. 
The feed-veflel is long, flender, and a little 
crooked; fo that it refembles a cock's fpur. 
The feeds are blackifli. 
It is a native of Spain, and flowers in July, in 
the cornfields. 
Clufius calls it Alfine corniculata ; a name 
copied by moft, and tranfiated by our Englifii 
writers with that of the author : they call it 
Clufius's horned ,chick'weed. Some have been for 
making it a fpecies of cockle \ but they ncvtr faw 
the plant. 
GENUS VII. 
S P U R R E Y. 
SPERGULA. 
THE flower is compofed of five petals, which open regularly, and fpread out; and are oval 
and hollowed : the feed-veflel is oval, and compofed of five valves ; but contains only one 
Cell : the cup is compofed of five oval, hollow leaves regularly dilpofed, and ftands with the feed- 
vefiel after the flower is fallen; the feeds are edged with a film. 
Linnsus places this among his deca}idria pentagyma j the threads in the flower being ten, and the 
fliyles from the rudiment of the fruit five. 
The difference is evident between this plant and the alfine^ not only in its charafters, but form, 
and manner ol growing; wherefore Mr. Ray judged unhappily in joining them, efpecially as there 
are of each numerous fpecies. 
I. Common Spurrey. 
SpergiiJa major. 
The root is fmall, flender, long, and furniflied 
with numerous fibres. 
The ftalks are numerous, round, upright, and 
of a pale green : they have few branches toward 
the bottom, but many toward the top. 
The leaves are very narrow, oblong, of a deep 
green, and often curled : they fl:and in a confide- 
rable number at each joint, furrounding the ft:alk, 
in the manner of thofe of what are called the 
flellate plants. 
The flowers are fmall and white ; and they 
confift each of five undivided petals. 
The fecd-vefl"el is large, and the feeds are fmall 
and blackifii. 
The fize of the plant varies extremely accor- 
ding to the nature of the ground : fix or eight 
inches is a common height [or i[ ; fometimes we 
fee it more than a foot ; and in Flanders, where 
they have fields of it, it is often two feet high. 
It is common wild on our plowed grounds ; 
but has fometimes been cultivated in England, as 
it is abroad, for the ufe of cattle. 
C. Bauhine calls it yUfms fpergida diSla major. 
Others, Spergula. 
2. Purple Spurrey. 
Spergiila floribus purpureis. 
The root is long, flender, full of fibres, and 
penetrates deep. 
The ftalks are numerous, weak, and very 
much branched : they are five or fix inches long, 
and they lie fpread upon the ground. 
Tiie leaves are numerous, fmall, and of a pale 
green. 
The flowers ftand at the tops of the branches 
in great numbers ; and they are fmall, but of a 
beautiful pale purple. 
The fced-vcfl:els are large, and the feeds are 
very numerous, and fmall. 
It is common on dry hiily ground, and flowers 
in May. We have it in Hidepark, and other 
places about London, in great abundance. 
C. Bauhine calls it Jl/im fperguU facie mimry 
feu Spergula minor fiore fubcaruleo. 
The leaves in this fpecies feem, on a flight 
view, to furround the ftalk in great numbers at 
every joint, as thofe of the common fpurrey ; but, 
when the plant is more nicely examined, there are 
found only two principal leaves at each joint, and 
the others are young flioots in their bofoms : they 
ftand very thick, fo that the miftake is eafy. 
3- Large-flowered Spurrey. 
Spergiila fiore majore. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
many fibres. 
The ftalks are numerous, round, jointed, and 
eight inches high. 
The leaves are oblong, fomewhat broad, and 
of a deep green : they are of a firmer fubftante 
than in the co-mmon fpurrey , and do not curl, or 
" turn, 
