The B R I r I S FI PI E R B A L. 
363 
ir.rlies high : ihi-y are not much branched ; and 
ufu.illy they lie in part upon the ground. 
The leaves on thtii arc placed in pairs at dil. 
tances : they have fiender footftalks : they are ol 
the lame form with thofe -horn the root ; and 
their colour is a lively green. 
The flowers ftand in a kind of fliort, tliick 
fpikts at the tops of the (talks and branches ; 
and they are fmail and ufually blue, fometimes 
purplifli.' fomc'™''* ""^^ '"'^ fometimes white. 
I he feeds are iniall and blackifli, 
It is common by way fides, and flowers in 
July. 
C. Bauhine calls it Prnnella major folio non dif- 
feSio. Others, I'lundUi, and trundla vulgaris. 
It is a^glutinant and aftrlngent. While wound- 
herbs were in elleem, this was one of the princi- 
pal. A decoflion of the whole plant is cooling 
and aftringent, and is a good n-^edicine in the 
piles. The juice cures inflammations ia the 
mouth. 
IVISION II. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
Jagged Prunella. 
Pimella foliis laciniatis. 
The root is long, and tolerably thick, and 
has m.any crooked fibres annexed to it. 
The leaves are numerous, and fupported on 
long footftalks : they ate of a pale green ; and 
they are deeply divided in two or more places 
down to the nb ; fo that they refcmble m fome 
degree a ftag's horn. 
The {lalks are fquare, tolerably firm, upright, 
and a foot or more in height. 
The leaves on thefe ftand in pairs at diftances : 
the moft ufual number is only two pairs on each 
ftalk, difpofed as in the befotiy, one pair at a fmall 
diftaiice trom the ground, the other near the top : 
thefe rdcmble thofe from the root s but they are 
lefs. 
The flowers ftand in a fmall tuft at tiie top of 
the ftahi, and are moderately large : they are 
fometimes of a pale red, but n ore ufually white* 
The feeds are large a-id blackifli. 
It is frequent in pafl:ure-grounds in the warmer 
parts of Europe. It flowers in June. 
C. Batiliine calls it Prunella folio ladmato ; a 
name others have copied. 
GENUS XV. 
H O R E H O U N D. 
M A R R U B I U M. 
rpHE flower is formed of a fingle petal, and is of the labiatcd kind. The tubular part, at the 
bafe is very n-.ort- and the o^-ening at the mouth is long, and gaping. The upperTip is 
fmall and li<>htly divided at the tip ; and it (lands upright : the lower lip is broader, and is divided 
into three fe^ticnts ; of which the middle one is largeft ; and this turns back, The cup is tubular, 
and fpreads'at the mouth: there are ten indentings at the edge, alternately larger and fmaller. 
Four oblon.^ feeds follow every flower ; and they are placed naked in the cup. 
Linn:t:us°places this among the didynanm gymnofpermia ; the flower having four thread?, two of 
which are longer than the others, and the feeds being naked. 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
White Horehound. 
Mcrruihtm album imlgarc. 
The root is compofed of a vaft many long, 
crooked, and entangled fibres, joined to a fmall 
head. ^ 
The (talks are numerous, upright, fquare, or 
a whitifh colour, and a foot and half high. 
The leaves are placed in pairs ; and they are 
rouiidifli, indented a little at the edges, of a firm 
fubftancc, a' d of a whitifli colour. 
Tne flowers ftand in thick clufters round the 
(lalks at every joint where the leaves grow : they 
are fmall and white, and the cups in which they 
ftand have a kind of hooked briftles, at the tops 
of their fevcral indentings. 
When fl:ridlly examined, thofe flowers are 
found to grow from the bofoms of the leaves, 
though they join round the ftalk. The whole 
plant has a very ftrong fmell. 
It is found in dry pafturcb, and by road-fides in 
many parts of the kingdon, and flowers in June. 
C. Bauhine calls it Marrubium album vulgare. 
Others only Alarrubium album. 
It is celebrated againft diforders of the brciH. 
The beft way of giving it is in form of a fyrup 
made of the juice prelTed kom the leaves and 
tops, with honey. This is a form as old as Dio- 
fcorides ; and the common method ot boiling up 
a decoftion of an herb with fugar, is not com- 
parable to it on fuch occafions. This fyrup 
of horehound is excellent againft coughs, and 
forenefs of the breafl. 
The leaves reduced to powder are faid to de- 
ftroy worms in the intcftines 1 but for this wc 
have not the fame authority. 
D I V I- 
