THE BRITISH HERBAL. 
SERIES I. 
Natives of B r i T A i n. 
Thofe of which one or more fpecies are naturally wild in this kingdom. 
G E N U S I. 
SUNDEW. 
R O R E L L A. 
'TpHE flower confifts of five petals, regularly difpofed into a hollowed form : the fecd-veffel Is 
oval, and has five valves at the top, but contains only, a fingle cell : the cup is formed of a 
fingle piece, divided into five fegments, and remains when the flower is fallen, 
LinnEus places this among the fmtandria fentagynia ; tlie threads in the flower being five, and the 
ftyles from the rudiment of the fruit of the fame number. 
This author has taken away the antient name of this genus, wliich is ros folis, and calls it dnfera. 
As a generical name confifting of more than one word is always improper, and as, befide the name 
ros foils, there is a familiar one always underfl:ood, and ufcd as fynonymous with it, that is mrella, I 
have chofen this for the name of tlie genus; every one converfant in the leafl: with thefe fl:udies 
knowing it. 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
I. Common Sundew. 
Rorslla vulgaris. 
The root is compofed of a few, (lender crooked 
fibres. 
■ The leaves rife from it in a little clufter ten or 
a dozen together, and form a very fingular ap- 
'pearance: each has its long and [lender footftalk^ 
and both that and the leaf are very hairy : the 
body of the leaf is roundifh, or a little inclining 
to oval: the colour is a dingy purple, and the 
fubftance is flefhy. 
The hairs that grow on this, and on the foot- 
ftalks, are long, robiill:, and yellowifli ; and 
tlicy differ greatly from thofe of any other known 
'plant, except the fpecies of the fame genus : they 
are often waved or crooked, and there ftand on 
the leaTes large drops of a cranfparcnt fluid in the 
midft of the hotteft days : from this the plant 
received its name of fundeio. 
The ftalk rifes in the centre of this tuft of 
leaves, and is upright, fingle, undivided, and fix 
inches high: its colour is purple, and it has no 
leaves or branches^ only that at the top it fome- 
times divides into two pares. 
The flowers ftand on the divifions, ten or a 
dozen on each : they are fmall, and rarely keep 
long open. 
The feed-veffel is fmall and ova! ; and the feeds 
are alfo oval, numerous, and fmall. 
It is common on the boggy parts of heaths ; 
and flowers in June. 
C. Bauhine calls it Ros folis folio rotunda. O- 
ihers, fimply Ros folis. Several of the following 
fpecies of this genus agree with [his in having 
no leaves on the ftalk : it is on thFs account the 
clafTical charadler fays, thefe plants have leaves 
"alternate, or not in pairs : thofe from the root 
'grow all from a fingle head, and they are all the 
leaves belonging to thefe kinds. 
2. Roundidi-leaved perennial Sundew. 
Rorella rotundifolia perennis. 
The root confifts, not of a few nio-ht fibA-cs 
as in the preceding, but of a thick tuft of them, 
fpreading every way to a confidt-rablc' length, 
from the feveml parts of one principal, flender 
and long body, 
. The leaves rife in a little duflicr, but rarely 
more than fix or feven together: they have lonc^ 
■fuotftalks, and ftand mofe upright than in the 
common fundew : the leaves themlclves are round- 
ifli, but approaching to oval, and are of a thick, 
flefliy fub'ftancc : they arc covered with Ihort and 
ftiff, yellow hairs, and generally have drops of a 
tranfparent liquor on them in the heat of the day 
The ftalk is naked, Hender, upright, and four 
inches high. 
^ The flowers grow at the top In a feries of 
eight or ten together; and they open more freely, 
and ftand longer, than thofe of common fundew: 
they are fmall and white. 
The feed-veffeis are oblong, and the feeds nu- 
merous and roundifh. 
It is common on bogs, with the former, but 
is overlooked. It flowers in July. 
Ray calls it Rorella rotundifolia -perennis. 
3. Small longifii- leaved perennial Sundew. 
Rorella fufilla longi folia perennis. 
' -The cmmon fu^detv is fometimes obferved to 
have the leaves approaching to an oblong form, 
and has-tl-tonce been divided, by Cafpar Bauhine 
and others, into two fpecies, the latter called 
^ros folis f do -^hlongo ; but that is only a variety 
of the common kind : the plant here treated of 
differs much mo:e obvioufly and efi^entiaily, and 
is a truly diftintt ipecies. 
TJie root is a great tuft of thick, black, and 
crooked fibres. 
