CLASS PENTANDRIA. 
141 
a plant from the 'New World, possessing extraordinary virtues. 
The generic name, Nicotiana, is derived from Nicot^ the name 
of the person who carried it to France. King James I. of 
England had such a dislike to the fumes of this plant that he 
wrote a pamphlet against its use, called " A Counter-blast to 
Tobacco." It is highly narcotic, the excessive use of it pro- 
ducing sleep, like opium. The oil of tobacco, when applied to 
a wound, is said to be equally fatal as the poison of a viper. 
a. The Mandrake (Ateopa mandragora) was much used by 
the ancients as an opiate ; they had many absurd notions re- 
specting this plant ; they fancied in its roots, which are very 
large and of a peculiar appearance, a resemblance to the human 
form, and believed some judgment from heaven would follow 
those who took them out of the ground. This superstition is 
not more absurd than that which exists in New England among 
the unenlightened, that " sowing fennel is sowing sorrow." The 
Atropa mandragora must be distinguished from the American 
mandrake or May-apple, which bears a fruit pleasant to the 
taste and not poisonous ; its botanical name is Podophyllum ; 
it is found in the class Polyandria. We see in this instance 
the importance of botanical names. The common name, rnan- 
drake^ is given to two plants essentially different ; but by the 
use of scientific names there is no danger of one being taken 
for the other by those who know any thing of botany. 
h. In this class is the very common roadside plant the mul 
lein, well known by its general appearance ; it has a five- 
parted calyx, and wheel-shaped corolla with five unequal di- 
visions. The stamens are declined^ or turned downward, and 
bearded. The capsule is two-celled and many-seeded. The 
leaves are oblong^ acuminate^ and decurrent^ or with their bases 
extending downward around the stem; they are downy on 
both sides. The flowers are arranged along their stem in a 
sjpiJce. The botanical name of the common mullein is Yerbas- 
cuM thajpsus / a species smaller and more delicate than the com- 
mon mullein is often found in woods ; this is the moth mullein, 
or Yerbascum hlattaria. This genus is less active in its medici- 
nal qualities than most others of the same family ; it is said to 
possess anodyne properties, and to be intoxicating to fish.* 
186. LysimachicB or PrimulaceoB.^ — ^The fifth class contains 
in its first order a natural family with wheel-form corollas. Its 
most important genus is the Lysimachia or Loose-strife (see 
Fig. 134, a\ several species of which may be found in blossom 
in June and July, along the banks of little brooks and in low 
• Smith. f See Appendix, Plate vii. Fig. 9. 
ffl. Mandrake — What other plant has the satie common name 1 — b. Describe the mallein — Uiftbp- 
«nl jpecies of Verbascum. — 186. Lysimachia. 
