The BRITISH HERBAL. 
249- 
It is a native of Virginia, and flowers in 
May. 
The whole plant has fome fome general re- 
fcmblanceof Jhepberds purfe, but that it is fmaller, 
and in all psrts more delicate, 
Gronovius calls it Alyjfum foUis radicalihus fin- 
tiatis in orbem pofilis caulinis lanceolatis Jilijuis Cfn^z 
prejis. We, Virginian Ladyjmock. 
GENUS XV, 
TOWER MUSTARD. 
t U R R I S. 
THE Rower is compofed of four petals regularly difpofed crofs-ways ; thefe are of an oval, but 
fomewhat oblong Hgure, obtufe, and undivided; and they Hand ereft, as do alfo their fmall bot- 
toms ; the cup is formed of four little, ereft, oblong leaves, and falls with the flower : the feed- 
veflel is very Ibng, flender, and of a fquared lhape, but two of the ridges are very faint : the feeds 
are numerous and fmall. 
LinnKUs places this among the telradynamia fdiquofa, the flower having fix threads, of which four 
»re longer than the other two, and the feed-veflTel being a regular pod. 
As we have no fingle word in Engliflj for the name of this genus, it will be proper to ufe the Latia 
name Imritis. 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
I. Common Turritis. 
^urritis vulgaris. 
The root is a duller of fmall fibres r the firll 
leaves arc numerous, and they form a thick and 
large tuft ; they are oblong, colifidcrably broad, 
pointed at the ends, not at all divided at the 
edges, and they have no footftalks : their colour 
is a pale green, and they are rough on the fur- 
face. 
In the centre of this tuft rife the ftalks, which 
are ufually numerous : they are round, upright, 
not at all branched, and a foot and half high. 
The leaves on thefe differ altogether from thofe 
which rife from the root : they are of a heart-fa- 
fliioncd fhape ; but they run out into a long 
point; and they are ofabluilh green colour, and 
perfcftly fmooth. 
The flowers and feed-veflels, when the plant 
has been fome little time in flower, fland at the 
top of the fl:alk in a long fpikc, refembling a 
tower, or other tall, upright building, whence 
the plant has its n.ime ; the flowers are fmall and 
white. 
The pods are very long and flender, and they 
fl:and parallel to the fl:alk, and at no great dif- 
tance from it. 
The feeds are fmall, very numerous, and round, 
It is common in our northern countries, and 
flowers in June. 
C. Bauhine calls it Brajfica fylvejtris foliis inte- 
gris y hiffedis. Others, turritis vulgaiior. 
2. Jagged-leaved Turritis, 
1'urrilis foliis ferratis. 
I'he root is long, flender, and furnilhed with 
many fibres. 
The firft leaves rife in a thick tuft, and have 
no foQtftalks : they are oblong, broadcll: in the 
middle, ferrated at the edges, and lharp-pointed : 
their culour is a pale greenifli, and they are hairy. 
The ftalks are numerous, upright, not much 
branched, and about ten inches high, 
25. 
The leaves on thefe are few, and fland irregu- 
larly : they are of an oblong, and fomewhat oval 
figure, and are ferrated at the edges, and pointed 
at the end. 
The flowers ftand at the tops of the ftalks, 
and are fmall and white. 
The feed-veflels are flender and long, and the 
feeds are very fmall and brown. 
It is found on walls, and on dry ditch bapks 
in many places, and flowers in May. 
C. Bauhine calls it Eryfmo fmilis hirfuta turn la- 
cinatii alha ; but this, though copied by fome, is 
an ill chofon, as well as aukward name ; the 
plant is much more like the cmmon turritis, 
3. Oval -leaved Turritis. 
Tmrilis foliis cvatis. 
The root is fmall and thready. * 
The firft leaves are difpofed irregularly in a 
little tuft : they are fupported on fliort, flender 
footftalks, and are of an oval form, obtufe at the 
end, very flightly ferrated at the edges, and fome- 
what hairy : their colour is a faint green, and they 
are of a tender fubftance. 
The ftalks rife in the centre of this tuft four 
or five together : they are very flender, upright, 
and of a whitifli green. 
The leaves ftand irregularly on them, and are 
numerous : they are alfo of an oval figure, but 
they have no footftalks ; and they are of a pale 
glofly green colour, and not at all hairy. 
The flowers ftand at the top of the flock in a 
little tuft, and they are fmall and white. 
The feed-veflels are long and flender, and they 
ftand out from the ftalk : when the plant has been 
a little while in flower, there is a kind of fpikc of 
thefe, a third part of its length. 
Tlie feeds are fmall and yellowifti. 
We have it on ant-hills, in dry paftures, and 
on ditch banks in fome places. It flowers in 
April. 
Petiver calls it "furritis minor felisfa. R^y^ 
S f 1" Pftjjica 
