PHY 
The Species are, 
ii, Phytolacca {Vulgaris) floribus becandfis decagynis. 
Hort. Cliff. 1 1 7. Phytolacca with flowers having ten 
ftamina and ten flyles . Phytolacca Americana, major! 
fruclu. Tourn.Tnft. 229. American Night flmde with 
large fruit, commonly called VirginianPoke, or PorkePhy/ic. 
2. Phytolacca ( Mexicana ) folds ovato-lanceolatis, flo- 
ribus feffilibus. Phytolacca with oval flpear-fhaped leaves , 
and flowers Jilting clofle to the ftalks. Phytolacca Mexi- 
cana, baccis feffilibus. Hort. Elth. 318. Mexican Phy- 
tolacca, whofle berries grow, clofle to the ftalk. s 
2. Phytolacca (. Icofandra ) floribus icofandris decagy- 
nis. Lin. Sp. 631. Phytolacca with many flamina , which 
are fixed to the receptacle. Phytolacca fpicis florum 
longiffimis, radice annua, tab. 207. Phytolacca with 
the longeft fpikes of flowers , and an annul root. 
4. Phytolacca (Dioica) floribus dioicis, catile arbo- 
reo ramofa. Phytolacca with a tree-like ftem, which has 
male and female flowers on different plants. 
The firft fort grows naturally in Virginia, and alfo 
in Spain and Portugal •, this hath a- very thick flefliy 
root, as large as a man’s leg, divided into feveral 
thick fleffiy fibres, which run deep in the ground. 
When the roots are become large, they fend out three 
or four ftalks, which are herbaceous, as large as a 
good walking-flick, of a purple colour, and rife the 
height of fix or feven feet, dividing into many 
branches at the top, garnifhed with leaves about five 
inches long, and two inches and a half broad they 
are rounded at their bafe, but terminate in a point, 
and are placed without order, having ffiort foot-ftalks ; 
they are of a deep green, and in the autumn change 
to a purplifn colour before they fall off. From the 
joints of the branches and at their divifions, come out 
the foot-ftalks of the flowers, which are about five 
inches long •, the lower part is naked, but the upper 
half fuftains a number of flowers ranged on each fide 
like common Currants. Each flower Hands upon a 
foot-ftalk half an inch long •, the flowers have five 
purplifli petals, within which (land the ten flamina 
and flyles. After the flowers are faded, the germen 
turns to a depreffed berry with ten furrows, having 
ten cells, filled with frnooth feeds. It flowers in July 
and Auguft, and in warm feafons the berries ripen in 
autumn. 
It may be propagated by flowing the feeds in the 
fpring upon a bed of light earth, and when the plants 
come up, they ffiould be tranfplanted into the bor- 
ders of large gardens, allowing them fpace to gro'w, 
for they nauft not be planted too near other plants, left 
they overbear and deftroy them, as they grow to be 
very large, efpecially if the foil is good. When they 
have taken root, they will require no farther care but 
only to clear them from weeds, and in the autumn 
they will produce their flowers and fruit ; but when 
the froft comes on, it will cut down the Hems of thefe 
plants which conftantly decay in the winter, but their 
roots will abide in the ground, and come up again the 
fucceedingfpring. 
The roots of this plant will continue many years, cf- 
pecially if they are plan ted in a dry foil, for wet in win- 
ter Handing about the roots will caufe them to rot i and 
forme times the froft in very fevere winters will kill 
them, if the furface of the ground is not covered with 
mulch, but in our ordinary winters they are never 
injured. 
Parkinfon fays, that the inhabitants of North Ame- 
rica make ufe of the juice of the root as a familiar 
purge ; two fpooiifuls of the juice will work flrongly. 
Of late there have been fome quacks, who pretend to 
cure cancers with this herb, but I have not met with 
one mftance of its having been ferviceable in that dis- 
order. The inhabitants of North America boil the 
voung ffioots of this plant, and eat it like Spinach. 
The. juice of the berries flam paper and linen of a 
beautiful purple colour, but it will not laft long. If 
there could be a method of fixing the dye, it might 
he very ufeful. 
. The .vignerons in Portugal, for many years made ufe 
of the juice of the berries of this plant to mix with 
•.heir red port wines when they made -it, which gave s 
deep colour to the wine y and when there was too much 
of this juice added, it gave a very difagreeable tafte to 
the wine ; and complaint of this pra&Tce having been 
communicated to his Portuguese Majefty, he gave or- 
ders that the items of the Phytolacca ffiould be cut 
down and deftroyed before they produced berries, to 
prevent the ufe of this juice for the future, in, order 
to gain a better reputation to the wine of that country. 
Some of this unmixed wine I have drank, and found 
it much more palatable and lighter than any port 
wine I had ever, before tailed •, but whether this is 
ftill continued in that country, I cannot fay. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in the Spanifh Weft- 
Indies ; the late Dr, Houftoun found it growing' in 
great plenty at La Vera Cruz, where the inhabitants 
conftantly ufed it for their table. This plant is bien- 
nial, feldom continuing longer than two years 5 and 
when it flowers and produces plenty of feeds the firit 
year, the^ plants frequently die before the following 
fpring. This hath an herbaceous ftalk about two 
feet high, about the fize of a man’s finger, dividing 
at the top into two or three ffiort branches, garni ffied 
with ovalfpear-fhaped leaves near fix inches long, and 
almoft three broad, drawing to a point at each^end* 
they have a ftrong longitudinal midrib, and feveral 
tranfverfe veins running from that to the Tides, of a 
deep green, and have foot-ftalks an inch and a half 
long, placed without order on the ftalk. The foot- 
ftalks of the flowers come out from the fide of the 
branches oppofite to the leaves * they are feven or 
eight inches long ; the lower part, about two inches 
in length, is naked j the remaining part is garnifhed 
with white flowers fitting clofe to the ftalks, which 
are white, having a bluffi of purple in the middle, 
each being cut into five fegments almoft to the bot- 
tom, and have from eight to fourteen ftamina, and 
ten flyles in each flower, which are fucceeded bv flat 
berries, having ten deep furrows divided into fo many 
cells, each containing one or two frnooth feeds. This 
flowers in July and Auguft, and the feeds ripen late 
in the autumn. 
The third fort grows naturally in Malabar, from 
whence I received the feeds ; this plant is annual, al- 
ways periffiing foon after it has perfedted feeds, fo that 
in this particular it differs greatly from the firft ; this 
rifes with an herbaceous ftalk from two to three feet 
high, which has feveral longitudinal furrows, and 
changes the latter part of furnmer to a purpliffi colour. 
It divides at the top into three or four branches, gar- 
niflied with fpear-ffiaped leaves fix or feven inches 
long, and almoft three broad in the middle, drawing 
to a point at each end ; they are of a deep green, 
and have ffiort foot-ftalks ; fometimes they Hand al- 
ternately, at others they are placed oppofite, and are 
frequently oblique to the foot-ftalk. The foot-ftalks 
of the flowers come out from the fide of the branches 
oppofite to the leaves •, they are nine or ten inches 
long, the lower part being naked’ as in the other forts, 
but this is much ffiorter than the other fpecies ; the 
other part is garnifhed with larger flowers than thofe 
of the other forts -, they are white on their infide, of 
an herbaceous colour on their edges, and purpliffi on 
their outfide, Handing upon ffiort foot-ftalks ; thefe 
have not always the fame number of ftamina, fome 
of them have but eight, and others nine or eleven, 
which are terminated by roundiffi fummits. Thefe 
flowers are fucceeded by orbicular, comprefied, foft 
berries divided by deep furrows on their outfide into 
ten cells, each containing one fmcoth ffiining black 
feed ; the racemus of flowers is very narrow at the 
top, where it is commonly inclined. This flowers in 
July and Auguft, and the feeds ripen in the autumn, 
foon after which the plant decays. 
The berries of this fort are very fucculent, and their 
juice ftains paper and linen of a beautiful purple co- 
lour, but it is not permanent. 
Thefe two forts are not lb hardy as the firft, fo their 
feeds ffiould be flown upon a moderate hot-bed in the 
fpring, and when the plants are fit to remove, they 
ffiould 
