\ 
RUT 
leaves from bottom to top, and in June will be clofely 
fet with flowers upon their edges, which make a very 
beautiful and odd appearance, and renders it worthy 
of a place in every good coiledion of plants. This 
is alfo propagated by parting the roots as the former, 
which ihould not be done very often ; becaufe, if the 
roots are not permitted to remain fome time to get 
fcrength, they will produce but weak floats, and 
very few flowers ; and in the ftrength of their 
fhoots and number of flowers, the greateft beauty of 
thefe plants confift. This fort grows plentifully at 
Madeira, from whence the feeds may be procured ; 
but thefe commonly lie in the ground a year before 
the plants come up, fo Ihould be fown in pots filled 
with frefh earth, and placed under a hot-bed frame 
in winter to fcreen the feeds from the froft, and the 
following fpring the plants will appear. 
The eighth fort was difcovered by the late Dr. Houf- 
toun, growing naturally at Carthagena in New Spain •, 
this rifes with fhrubby ftalks eight or ten feet high, 
which divide into many branches, and are garnifhed 
with (tiff fpear-fhaped leaves three inches long, and 
one broad in the middle, ending in acute points ; 
they are fometimes ranged in whorls round the 
ftalks, and at others they are oppofite. The flowers 
are produced in loofe bunches at the end of the 
branches, handing upon flender foot-ftalks ; they are 
fmall, of a red colour, and fhaped like thofe of the 
firft fort. 
This plant is tender, fo muft be kept in a ftove 
during the winter, otherwife it will not live in England. 
RUTA. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 257. tab. 133. Lin. 
Gen. Plant. 469. [This plant is called Ruta, of pud to 
preferve, becaufe it is a plant very good to preferve 
health.] Rue. 
The Characters are. 
The flower has a floort permanent empalement cut into 
five parts ; it has four or five oval petals which fpread 
open , and are narrow at their hafe , and eight or ten awl- 
Jhaped fpreading ftamina the length of the petals , crowned 
by floort eredt fummits , with a gibbous germen having a 
crofs furrow , marked with ten [pots , fupporting an eredi 
awljhaped ftyle crowned by a Jingle fiigma. The germen 
afterward becomes a gibbous capfule with five lobes and five 
cells opening in five parts at the top , and filled with rough 
angular feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fetftion of 
Linnaeus’s tenth clafs, which contains thofe plants 
whofe flowers have ten ftamina and one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1. Ruta ( Hortenfis ) foliis decompofitis, floribus o&an- 
dris, ftaminibus corolla longioribus. Rue with decom- 
pounded leaves , and flowers having eight ftamina which 
are longer than the petals. Ruta hortenfis latifolia. 
C. B. P. 336. Broad-leaved Garden Rue. 
2. Ruta ( Altera ) foliis decompofitis, foliolis oblongo- 
ovatis, ftaminibus corolla sequantibus. Rue with de- 
compounded leaves , the fmall leaves oblong and oval , and 
ftamina equalling the petals. Ruta hortenfis altera. C. 
B. P. 336. Another Garden Rue. 
3. Ruta ( Sylveftris ) foliis inferioribus decompofitis, fo- 
liolis linearibus, fummis quinquefidis trifidifque. Rue 
with decompounded linear leaves below , and the upper ones 
five or three-pointed. Ruta fylveftris minor. C. B. P. 
336. Smaller wild Rue. 
4. Ruta ( Chalepenfis ) foliis decompofitis, floribus de- 
candris marginibus petalorum ciliatis. Rue with de- 
compounded leaves , flozvers having ten ftamina , and the 
borders of the petals of the flower hairy. Ruta Cha- 
lepenfis latifolia, fiorum petalis villis fcatentibus. 
H. L. Broad-leaved Aleppo Rue with hairy petals to the 
flower. 
5. Ruta ( Ciliatis ) foliis compofitis, floribus decandris, 
petalis fiorum ciliatis. Rue with compounded leaves , 
flowers having ten ftamina , and hairy petals to the flower. 
Ruta Chalepenfis tenuifolia, fiorum petalis villis fca- 
tentibus. Mor. Hift. 2. 508. Narrow -leaved Aleppo 
Rue , with hairy petals to the flower. 
6. Ruta ( Linifolia ) foliis fimplicibus indivifis. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 384. Rue with fingle undivided leaves. Ruta 
RUT 
fylveftris linifolia Hifpanica. Bocc. Muf. 2. p. 82. 
Wild Spanijh Rue with a Flax leaf. 
7. Ruta {Montana) caule eretfto corymbofo, foliis com- 
pofitis, floribus decandris, ftaminibus corolla longi- 
oribus. Rue with an erebl corymbus ftalk, compound 
leaves , and flowers having ten ftamina which are longer 
than the petals. Ruta fylveftris montana. Cluf. Hift. 
Wild Mountain Rue. 
8. Ruta ( Patavina ) foliis terminatis fefillibus. Lin. Sp. 
549. Ru'e with leaves without foot-ftalks terminating the 
branches. Pfeudo Ruta patavina trifolia, floribus lu- 
teis umbellatis. Michel. Gen. 22. tab. 19. Baftard 
Rue with trifoliate leaves , and yellow flowers in umbels. 
The firft fort is the common Rue, which has been 
long cultivated in the gardens, and is that which is 
dire&ed to be ufed in medicine, but of late years the 
fecond fort has fo generally prevailed, as almoft to 
fupplant the firft in the gardens about London ; that 
being hardier than the firft, is not fo liable to be 
killed by fevere froft. 
The firft rifes with a fhrubby ftalk to the height of 
five or fix feet, fending out branches on every fide, 
garnifhed with decompounded leaves, whofe fmall 
leaves (or lobes) are wedge-fhaped ; they are of a 
gray colour, and have a ftrong odour. The flowers 
are produced at the end of the branches, in bunches 
almoft in form of umbels ; they are compofed of 
four yellow concave petals, which are cut on their 
edges, and eight yellow ftamina which are longer 
than the petals, terminated by roundifh fummits. 
The germen becomes a roundifh capfule, with four 
lobes punched full of holes, containing rough black 
feeds. It flowers in June, and the feeds ripen in 
autumn. 
The fecond fort hath a fhrubby ftalk which rifes three 
or four feet high, fending out many branches gar- 
nifihed with decompounded leaves, which are nar- 
rower than thofe of the former fort •, they are of a 
bluifh gray colour, and have a ftrong odour. The 
flowers grow in longer and loofer bunches than the 
former ; they have four fhort, concave, yellow pe- 
tals, and eight fhort ftamina of equal length with 
the petals. The feed-veflel is like that of the former, 
but fmaller. This fort is more commonly to be found 
in gardens than the firft. 
The third fort grows naturally in Spain. The lower 
leaves of this are compounded of feveral parts, which 
are joined to the midrib in the fame manner as other 
branching winged leaves, and are garnifhed with fmall 
linear leaves, ftanding without order. The ftalks 
rife from two to three feet high, branching out from 
the bottom ; thefe are garnifhed with leaves which 
are divided into five parts, and thofe at the top into 
three, which are as fmall and narrow as thofe at the 
bottom ; they are of a gray colour, but are not fo 
ftinking as thofe of the other. The flowers grow at 
the end of the branches in loofe fpikes, which are ge- 
nerally reflexed ; the petals of the flower are yellow, 
and appear in June-, thefe are fucceeded by fmall 
feed-vefiels filled with angular black feeds. It flowers 
in June, and the feeds ripen in autumn. 
The feeds of the fourth fort came from Aleppo, and 
it has alfo been brought from the Cape of Gocd, 
Hope ; this hath ftrong fhrubby ftalks which rife 
about three feet high, dividing into many branches, 
which are garnifhed with decompounded leaves lar- 
ger than thofe of the common fort, and have a ftronger 
odour. The flowers are difpofed almoft in form of 
an umbel at the end of the branches they have five 
concave yellow petals, whofe borders are fee with fine 
hairs, and ten ftamina which are of equal length with 
the petals. This fort flowers in June, and the feeds 
ripen in autumn. The feed-veffels of this are much- 
larger than thofe of the common fort. 
The fifth fort grows naturally at Aleppo ; this hath 
fhrubby ftalks, which are fmaller, and do not rife fo 
high -as thofe of the former fort. The leaves are 
much narrower and grayer than thofe, but have the 
fame ftrong odour; the flowers are fmaller, and have 
five petals, which are pretty clofe fet with fmall 
hairs ; 
