270 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
The flowers are litcle and white : they ftand in 
fmall tufts ac the tops of the branches, and the 
feed-veflels appear in them asfoon as they are open. 
Thefe are fliort, and of a pale green : the feeds 
are brown and minute. 
It is common in corn-fields in many parts of 
England, and flowers in Auguft. 
C. Bauhine calls it T^hlafpi arvenfe vaccari^ in- 
cano folio mapis. Othersj Thlajpi vulgare^ and 
Thlafpi "julgatiffimum. 
The feed has been celebrated for many virtues, 
but it is not regarded in the modern praftice. 
It is an attenuanc, and works by urine. The 
ancients have written great things in praife of it 
as a cure for the fciatica ; and there was at one 
time an opinion of its being very cxcelient againll: 
venomous bites and poifons. 
This obtained it a place in fome of the cele- 
brated old compcfitionsi but thele are very ill 
eftablifhed qualities. 
2. Thlafpi with hairy pods. 
Thlafpi villofum capfuUs hirfutis. 
The root is long, (lender, and furnifhed with 
a few fibres. 
The firft leaves are fupported on flendcr, 
hairy footftalks i and are themfelves alfo hairy, 
and of an oval figure. 
The fl:alk rifes in the centre of a tuft of thefe, 
and is round, firm, upright, not at all branched, 
and a foot or more in height. 
The leaves on it are unHke thofe at the root : 
they are broad, oblong, and fomewhat heart-fa- 
fliioned at the bafe, where they furround the 
(talk and thence they grow narrower to .the end. 
The flowers fl:and in pretty large tufts at the 
tops of the ftalks, and they are large and white. 
The feed-veflTel is fliorc and hairy, and the feeds 
are yellowifh. 
It is common on the Welch mountains, and 
in fome parts of the wefl: of England. It flowej-s 
in Augufl-. 
C. Bauhine calls It 'thlafpi villofum capfulis hir- 
futis. Others, Thlafpi majus peremie. The whole 
plant is confiderably hairy from bottom to top. 
3. Broad-podded Thlafpi. 
Thlafpi fiUculis latis. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
a few fibres. 
The firfl: leaves are oblong, moderately broad, 
and of a fainC green : they are obtufe at the ends, 
and a little waved at the edges. 
The ftalk rifes among thefe, and they foon af- 
ter fade : this is round, firm, upright, branched, 
and about ten inches high. 
The leaves are placed alternately upon it, and 
refemble thofe from the root ; they are oblong, 
broad, and blunt at the end, of a pale green, a 
little notched at the edges, and without foot- 
ftalks. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they fland 
cen or a dozen together at the tops of the fl:alks. 
The feed-veflel is very broad and thin, and 
has, a deep nip at the edge : the feeds are fmall 
and yellowifh. 
It is frequent about corn-fieldE, and in walle 
grounds, in many parts oi England. It flowcis 
in July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Thlafpi arucrfc fdiquts IrJis. 
Others, Thlafpi Diofcoridis. from the breadth of 
the fecd-vefl'els, fuppofed to reprefent a piece of 
money, it has obtained tlie Hnglifli name ol Peii- 
nycrefs. 
The feeds of this fpecies are celebrated by the 
old Greek writers in rheumatic cafes, in obllruc- 
tions of the vifccra, and againit poifon ; but thtfe 
virtues they attributed in the fame manner to 
many others upon little foundation, either in rea- 
fon or correi^t experience. 
4. Little oval-leaved Thlafpi. 
Thlafpi foliis oi-atis mnus. 
The root is flender, and creeps under the 
furface, fending out in different places many 
fibres. 
The firfl: leaves rife in a thick tuft : they are 
fupported on flender footftalks, and are of an 
oval figure, and pale green. 
The fl:alks rife in the midft ; and are round, 
upright, firm, and rarL-ly branched ; of a dufky 
colour, and about eight inches high j often much 
lefs. 
The leaves on thefe are fliort and fmall, broad 
at the bafe, where rhey adhere to the flalk with- 
out any pedicles ; and thence gradually fmallcr to 
a point. 
The flowers arc fmall and white : they ftand at 
the tops of the flalks in fmall tufts. 
The feed-veflels are fliort, and have this point 
in the middle longer than in nioft kinds : the 
feeds are numerous, little, and brown. 
It is not common any where, but more fre- 
quent in Yorkfliirc than any other part of Eng- 
land, 
C. Bauhine calls it Thlafpi montanum glajlifolio 
minus. J. Bauhine, Thlafpi foliis globidaria:. 
Others, Thlafpi bellidis folio. 
5. Smooth, broad-leaved Thlafpi. 
Thlafpi foliis latiorihus glabrum. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
numerous fibres. 
The firfl: leaves are oblong, broad, and obtufe 
at the end, not at all indented at the edges, per- 
fe6tly fraooth, and of a pale green. 
The ftalk rifes in the centre, and thefe foon 
after grow yellow and decay: it is firm, upright, 
branched, and a foot and a half high. 
The leaves are oblong, and confiderably broad : 
they have no footflalks, and they are of a pale 
green, perfec5lly fmooth, and not indented at the 
edges. 
The flowers grow at the tops of the branches, 
and arc fucceeded by fmall fmooth feed-vcirels. 
The feeds are roundifli, and of a glofly brown. 
It is found in Suffolk, and in fome other parts 
of England, and flowers in Auguft. 
Ray calls it Thlafpi vaccari.e folio glalrum. It 
is one of the plants of late years difcovered by the 
botanifts of our country, and not known to the 
earlier authors. 
6. Small 
