5- Lappa major motif ana , capitulis minoribus, rotundioribus & magis fomentofis. 
6. Lappa major ex omni parte minor , capitulis parvis eleganter reticulatis. 
Lappa vulgaris major capitulis foliolis. Var. . , , , 
AU thefe are however conlidered by the botanifts of the prefent day as one fpecies, to which may be added a 
variety with white flowers, which often occurs. 
The Burdock is a very common plant by way fides, and in wafte places, and flowers in July and Auguft. 
In the fize of its leaves it may forne times difpute the palm with the.Butterburr ; painters often introduce them 
in die foregrounds of their pi&ures, which they are admirably well calculated to embellifti. 
No fort of cattle relifh the foliage of this plant, but fnails, (lugs, and many fpecies of caterpillars feed on it 
delicioufly ; the pith produces its particular moth, which does not appear to be defcribed by Linnaeus, but is 
rnoft accurately figured by Sepp*, and called by Aurelians the Mottled Orange , the caterpillar of this moth 
changes into chryfalis about the beginning of Auguft, during which month it may be found in that ftate by 
Splitting the (talks of fuch plants as appear Hinted in their growth ; the moth comes out about the end of Auguft, 
and is one of thole whofe bodies are extremely apt to become greafy, to prevent which the body Ihould be care- 
fully. opened on the under fide, and its contents taken out previous to its being placed in the cabinet. A fmall 
larva, not peculiar to this plant, feeds alfo betwixt the coats of the leaf. 
The feeds, like thofe of the thiftle tribe, are fought for by feveral of the feathered fongfters, and are even re- 
commended to fatten poultry +• 
The microfcope informs us, vide fig. i, 2. why the burrs adhere fo clofely to one’s cloaths, and why boys, who 
divert themfelves by throwing them at one another, have fo much difficulty in extricating them from their hair. 
As a weed it is not fo formidable as it appears to be, being a biennial the hufbandman has only to deftroy its 
leedlings. 
The root and ftalks are efculent and nutritive ; the (talks for this purpofe fhould be cut before the plant flowers, 
the rind peeled off, and then boiled and ferved up in the manner of Chardoons, or eaten raw, as a fallad, with 
oil and vinegar. Lightfoot FI. Scot. p. 446. 
The feeds have a bitteriffi, fubacrid tafte, they are recommended as very efficacious diuretics, given either in the 
form of emulfion or in powder to the quantity of a drachm. The roots tafte fweetilh, with a (light aufterity 
and bitteriflinefs ; they are efteemed aperient, diureric and fudorific, and faid to a£t without irritation, fo as to be 
fafely ventured on in acute diforders. Deco&ions of them have of late been ufed in rheumatic, gouty, and other 
diforders, and preferred by fome to thofe of Sarfaparilla. Lewis’s Difp. p. 101. 
* Neikrlandfcbc lnjeSlen. t. 3. 
•J- Stirp. indig. Aragon, p. 113. 
