r H E BRITISH HERBAL. 
and the fcvcral klr.ds of faxifrcges were fuppofed 
to poikTs i:, ciufc had cheir fnare in the cha- 
raiSlcr. 
5. Upright, branched Pearlwort. 
Alfinella ramofior er^^a. 
The root is cotnpofcd of fmall and Tiender 
fibres. 
The ftalks are numerous and fiender ; Tome 
of them lie upon the ground, but the greater 
part are ereft : they are round, flender, and of a 
pale green. 
The leaves are very narrow and oblong : they 
are placed two at each joint, and thofe joints are 
at diftances on the ftallc. 
From the bofom of almoft every leaf rifes a 
fboot, which is afterwards branched out into 
other divifions ; fo that the whole plant is bufliy, 
and about four inches high. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they Hand at 
the tops of all the branches, and alfo on finglc 
footftalks rifing from the bofoms of the leaves. 
The feed-velTel is large, rounded, and com- 
preffcd i and the feeds are large, and not nume- 
rou'=. 
It is common on heaths in many parts of the 
kingdom, and flowers in June. 
DIVISION II. F O 
I. Tall, long-leaved Pearlwort. 
Alfinella elalior foUii hngioribu^ migujlis. 
The root is long, flender, white, and furnilhed 
with many fibres. 
The ftalks are numerous; very flender, not 
much branched, and fix inches high. 
The leaves are placed in pairs, and at confi- 
derable diflances, on the ftalk : they are long, and 
very narrow, of a' beautiful grafs-grecn, and 
fharp- pointed. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they (land 
at the tops of the ftalks, and of young Ihoots that 
rife from the bofoms of the leaves, and feme few 
on long, flender footftalks, that rife immediately 
from the bofoms of thofe leaves, whence there 
are no other flroots. 
The feed-vefiel is round, and the feeds are 
Very minute. 
It is frequent on the mountains on the northern 
parts of Europe, and flowers in July. 
Magnol calls it Polygomm angufiijfimo p-amineo 
folio ereSium. Ray, /iljlno polygonoides temifoUa 
fofadis ad longitud netn canlis 'vdut in fpicam dif- 
poftis. 
6. Shorr, many- leaved Pearlwort. 
Alfmlla foUis hrevihus mmerofis. . 
The root is flender, and hung with fibresi 
The fl:alks are numerous, flender, upright, and 
four inches high : they are of a pale green, and 
not much branched. 
The leaves fl:and in pairs ; but there are al- 
ways many ihoots of young ones riflng from their 
bofoms : they arc fliort, fomewhat broad, and of 
a duflcy green. 
The flowers ftand at the tops of the ftalks and 
branches, and from the bofoms of the leaves alfo 
there rife pedicles fupporting feveral ; they are 
fmall, white, and quickly fade. 
The feed-veflel fmall, and the feeds are nume- 
rous and minute. 
We have it on wet ground in the Ifle of Ely. 
It flowers in July. 
Ray calls it Alfmajlrum gmtioU folio. 
Frequently the whole plant is red. 
RfiIGN SPECIES. 
C. Bauhine calls \t Al/me montana capillaceo foliii 
and others borrow the fame name. 
2. Large-flowered Pearlwort. 
Alfinella foliis majoribus flore aliijuantulum majore'. 
The root is compofed of a few filaments. 
The ftalks are numerous, ereft, flender, and 
very much branched : they are of a pale green, 
and their joints are at fmall diflances. 
The leaves ftand two at each joint, and they 
are fmall, fliort, and narrow. 
The flowers are larger than in moft of thefe 
plants, but they are not very confiderable : thejf 
are white, and are placed at the tops of the 
branches, and on footftalks from the bofoms of 
the leaves. 
The feed veflel is large, and the feeds are few. 
It is frequent in Germany, and flowers in April. 
Columna calls it Alfme ramofa glabra. 
GENUS III. 
ALLSEED. 
R AB 1 O L A. 
THE flower is compofed of four petals regularly difpofed : the fecd-veffel is oval, and made 
of eight valves ; it contains eight cells, and in each a fingle feed : the cup is formed of a fingle 
piece, divided into numerous, flender fegments. 
Linna;us makes this a fpecics of limim or flax, though it contradia the whole generical charafter. 
There is but one known fpecies of it, and that is a native of Britain, 
Allfced, 
