L Y C 
L Y C 
from two to three feet high, garnifhed with oval acute- 
pointed leaves, placed by pairs at each joint, and are 
terminated by clufters of purple flowers, which, ap- 
pear in April and May. The male flowers grow upon 
feparate plants from the female. The latter produces 
feeds which ripen in July ; the ftalks decay in au- 
tumn, but the roots continue feveral years. 
Therefts a variety of this with double flowers, which 
is cultivated in gardens, by the title of Red Bachelor’s 
Button. This is an ornamental plant, and continues 
long in flower. It is propagated by flips, which fhould 
be planted the beginning of Auguft in a fhady border 
of loamy earth, where they will take root in about fix 
weeks or two months, and may then be tranlplanted 
into the borders of the flower-garden. Thefe roots 
fhould be annually tranfplanted, otherwife they fre- 
quently rot ; and young plants mufc be propagated by 
flips to fupply the decay of the old roots, which are 
not of very long duration. This fort thrives beft in 
a foft loamy foil, and in a fliady fituation, where they 
have only the morning fun. 
The fourth fort is very common upon dry banks on 
the fide of roads in moil parts of England, fo is not 
admitted into gardens ; there is a variety of this with 
purple flowers, which I find is by fome fuppofed to 
be the fame as the third, but is very different, for the 
ftalks of this are branched out much more; the 
leaves are longer and more veined, and the flowers of 
this ftand fingly upon pretty long foot-ftalks, fo are 
not produced in clufters like thofe of the third. This 
is alfo very hairy, and the empalement of the flowers 
is fwollen like inflated bladders. This flowers near 
a month after the other, but the male and female 
flowers grow upon different plants, as in the former. 
There is a variety of this with double flowers, which 
is propagated in gardens by the title of Double white 
Bachelor’s Button, and is an ornamental plant in the 
flower-garden; though being white it doth not make 
fo good an appearance as the other, however it adds 
to the variety. This is propagated ,in the fame way 
as the double fort before-mentioned, but the plants 
will thrive in a drier foil, and a more open expofure 
than that. 
The fifth fort grows very common in moift meadows, 
and by the fide of rivers in moft parts of England, 
where it is intermixed with the Grafs. This rifes with 
upright unbranched ftalks near a foot and a half high, 
garnifhed with narrow fpear-lhaped leaves, placed by 
pairs oppofite at each joint. The ftalks are flender, 
channelled, and are terminated by fix or feven purple 
flowers upon pretty long foot-ftalks, .which branch 
out. The empalement of the flower is ftriped with 
purple, and the petals of the flowers are deeply jag- 
ged in four narrow fegments, which appear as if torn ; 
from whence the country people have given it the ap- 
pellation of Ragged Robin. It flowers in May, and 
the feeds ripen in July. This fort is never kept in 
gardens, but there is a variety of it with very double 
flowers, which is propagated by the gardeners for or- 
nament. It only differs from the Tingle in the multi- 
plicity of the petals, and produces no feeds, fo is 
propagated by flips in the fame manner as the fecond 
fort. It is commonly known by the title of Double 
Ragged Robin. 
The fixtli fort grows naturally on the Alps, in Lap- 
land, and the other cold parts of Europe. This is a 
perennial plant which delights in a moift foil. The 
ftalks of this are ereft, half a foot high, garnifhed 
with narrow fpear-fhaped leaves placed by pairs op- 
pofite, like the former fort, but are a little fhorter and 
broader ; the bottom leaves are broader than thofe 
upon the ftalks, and fit clofe to the ground ; they are 
fmooth, and of a deep green : the flowers are produced 
in a corymbus on the top of the ftalk, fitting dole to- 
gether ; they are of a purple colour, and the petals 
are cut in the middle. This flowers the beginning 
of June, and the feeds ripen in Auguft. It is propa- 
gated by feeds, and alfo by parting of the roots ; 
it mu ft have a moift foil and a fhady fituation, other- 
wife the plants will not thrive. The time for tranf- 
planting the plants, and parting the roots, is the fame- 
as for the fecond fort, and the feeds may be Town up- 
on a fhady border in March. In dry weather the 
ground muft be kept moift, otherwife the feeds will 
not grow. When the plants come up, and are fit to 
remove, they fhould be tranfplanted into a fliady bor- 
der, where they may remain to flower. 
The feventhfort grows naturally in Siberia : this hath 
a perennial root, from which arife many narrow leaves 
fitting clofe to the ground. The ftalks rife a foot high, 
dividing into branches by pairs. The fioWers grow 
out from the divifion of the branches, as alfo at the 
top of the ftalks. They are compofed of five white 
petals, which are divided in the middle ; thefe ap- 
pear in June, and are fucceeded by roundifh capfules 
filled with fmall angular feeds, which ripen in Au- 
guft. This requires the fame treatment as the for- 
mer fort. 
The eighth fort was brought from Portugal to Eng- 
land, and is probably a variety of one with Angle 
flowers, which grows naturally in that country, but is 
different from any we have in England. This ap- 
proaches neareft to the Double Ragged Robin, but is 
different from that. It hath a perennial root, from 
which arife many oblong narrow leaves fitting clofe 
to the ground. It divides into feparate heads like 
the fecond fort, and from each of thefe come out an 
upright ftalk about nine inches high, which divides 
upwards by pairs, and from the middle of each divi- 
fion comes out a flender foot-ftalk two inches long, 
fuftaining one double purple flower at the top, whole 
petals are very much jagged at their points ; the em- 
palements of the flowers are marked with deep pur- 
ple ftripes. From the fide of the ftalks there are al- 
fo foot-ftalks come out at the wings, which for the 
moft part fuftain but one flower, though fometimes 
they have two ; thefe flowers being very double, are 
never fucceeded by feeds. The ufual time of this 
plant flowering is in June, but fometimes it fends 
out frefh ftalks, which have flowers in the autumn. 
It is propagated by flips in the fame manner as the 
third and fourth forts, but coming from a warm 
country, it is impatient of much cold, and requires 
a particular treatment, for it does not thrive well in 
pots ; nor will it live through the winter in open bor- 
ders, fo that the only fituation in which I have feen it 
thrive, was where it was planted' as clofe as poffible to 
a fouth wall in dry undunged earth ; for in rich or 
moift ground the roots prelently rot, as they alfo do 
when they are watered. If they are planted in brick 
rubbifh, they will ftill do better. I was favoured with 
this plant by John Browning, Efq; of Lincoln’s-inn, 
who received it from Portugal. 
The ninth fort grows naturally in the northern parts 
of Europe. It is like the fourth fort, but the petals 
of the flowers do not extend beyond the empalement, 
and the empalements are much larger and more 
fwollen. 
The other Species of Lychnis are now ranged un- 
der the following genera, viz. 
Agp.qstemma, Cucubalus, Saponaria, and Si~ 
lene, to which articles the reader is defired to turn 
for thofe which are not here enumerated. 
LYCIUM. Lin. Gen. Plant. 232. Jafminoides. Nif- 
fol. Aft. R. Par. 1711. Rhamnus. C, B. P. 477. 
Boxthorn. 
The Characters are, 
Phe flower hath a fmall , ohtufle , 'permanent empalement , 
which is eredi, and divided into five parts at the top ; the 
flower is funnel-floaped , of one petal, with an incurved 
tube , whofe brim is cut into five obtufle fegments , which 
fpread open. It has five awljhaped ftamina , which are a 
little inclined and fhorter than the tube , terminated by erect 
fummits. In the center is f iliated a roundifi: germen fup- 
porting a Jingle fityle , which is longer than the ftamina, 
crowned by a thick bifid ftigma ; the germen afterwards 
becomes a roundifh berry with two cells , inclojing kidney - 
Jhaped feeds faftened to the middle partition. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 
Linnasus’s fifth clafs, intitled Pentancna Monogynia, 
which 
