110 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
he 1-celled. Stigma capitate, or decurrent on the style. Capsule 
globose or ovoid, opening septicidally and septifragally by 2 valves. 
Seeds very numerous, minute. 
Herbs, commonly hiennial, with the leaves often densely clothed 
with wool. Flowers commonly in fascicles arranged in racemes, 
yellow, white, or purplish. 
The name of this genus of plants seems to be a corruption of the word barbascum, 
on account of the bearded or shaggy aud downy surface of the leaves in most of 
the species. 
SPECIES I.— V ERBA8CUM THAPSUS. Lhm. 
Plate DCCCCXXXVII. 
Reich. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. XX. Tab. MDCXXXV1I. 
BUlot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 3441. 
V. Schraderi, 2Iey. Koch, Syn. Fl. Germ, et Helv. ed. ii. p. 5S6. Feicli.ji 7 . 1. c. 
Stem round, simple, rarely slightly branched. Radical leaves 
ohovatc or ohlanceolate, generally contracted into short petioles, 
obtuse or sub-obtuse ; lower stem-leaves similar ; the others oval or 
elliptical, decurrent on the stem usually as far as the next leaf 
below, acute or shortly acuminate, entire or crenate. Flowers all 
subsessile, in fascicles arranged in a very dense spikelike raceme at 
the termination of the stem, and also of the branches when these are 
present. Pedicels all much shorter than the calyx when in flower. 
Limb of the corolla concave, three or four times as long as the 
tube ; 3 upper stamens with the filaments clothed with white woolly 
hairs, and with transverse reniform anthers ; 2 longer ones glabrous, 
with oblong-rcniform oblique anthers, one-fourth the length of their 
filaments. Stigma capitate. Capsule large, scarcely exceeding the 
large calyx-segments. Whole plant densely felted with yellowish- 
grey rather long hairs stellate at the apex and firmly attached to 
the plant. 
On dry banks, waste places, roadsides, and hedge-banks ; in 
calcareous, sandy, and gravelly soils. Rather sparingly distributed 
over England and the South of Scotland as far North as Forfar, 
Stirlingshire, and the Isle of Arran. It has also occurred in 
Aberdeen and Moray, but it is thought not to be native there. 
England, Scotland, Ireland. Biennial. Late Summer 
and Autumn. 
Stem very stout, 18 inches to i feet high, simple, except in 
very luxuriant examples, in which there are sometimes a few 
