Of the Hiftorie of Plants, 
Li 
15 'il 
4 This finall kinde of Furze (growing vponHampflead heath neere London, and in diners 
other barren grounds, where in manner nothing elfe wil grow) hath many weakeand flexible bran- 
dies of a wooddy fubftance : whereon do grow little leaues like thofe of Tyme : among Whichare 
fet in number infinite mod lliarpe prickles, hurting like needles, w'hereof ittookehis name. The 
floures grow on the tops of the branches like thofe of Broome, and of a pale yellow colour. The 
root is tough and wooddy. 
% 5 i his plant (faith Clafim ) is wholly new and elegant, fome fpan high,diuided into many 
branches, fome fpred vpon the ground, others Handing vpright, hailing plentiful! (lore of grecne 
prickles : the floures in fliape are like thofe of Broome, but lefle,and of a blewifh purple colour 
Handing in rough hairy whitifh cups, two or three floures commonly growing neere together: 
fometimes whileflit floures it fendeth forth little leaues, but not very often, and they are ft w, and 
like thofe of the fecond defcribed,and quickly fall away, fothat the whole plant feemes nothin^ 
but prickles, or like a hedge- hog when fhe folds vp her felfe : the root is wooddy, and large for the 
proportion of the plant. Itgrowes inthekingdomeofValentia in Spaine, where the Spaniards 
call it Erizo, that is, the Hedge-hog; and thence Clufius alfo termed it Erinacea. It flourerh in 
Aprill. * 
5 Genifia fpinofa hum! Us. 
Dwarfe or low Furze. 
6 Genifia acnlcata minor, fine Nepa Theophr. 
Scorpion Furzes. 
6 The fmallcH of all the Furzes is that of the Antients called Nepa or Scorpion Furze.as the 
word Nepa feemeth to import : it is a flranger in England : it hath beene touched of the Anrienc's 
in name onely: which fault they haue beene all and euerie ofthem tobe complained of, being fo 
briefe that nothing can be gathered from their defeription : and therefore I refer what might here- 
of be faid to a further confiderarion. * This hatha thicke wooddy blacke root fome halfe foot 
long, from whencearife many flender branches fome foot high, which are fet with many Hiffeand 
fharpe prickles, growing fomewhat after the maner of thewilde prickly SperagQ: the yong plants 
haue httie leaues like thofe of Tragacanth ; the old ones none ; the floures are fmal,and come forth 
at j 1 , ottotn eof the prickles, and they are fucceeded by broad cods wherein thefeediscontai- 
ned. Itgrowes in diners places of France and Spaine,and is thought tobe the Jwww of 
pbrafius, which tranflates Nepa. 4 
The Flace. 
The common fort hereofare very well knowne to grow in paHures and fields in mofl places of 
England . The re-fl are likew ife well knowne to thofe that curioufly obferife the difference. 
The Time. 
They floure from the beginning of May to the end of September. 
The Names. 
Furze is commonly called Gcntftafpinofa : in high-Dutch,©afpeH)Ojetl 5 in EngIifh,Furze,Fur- 
zen bufhes, Whinne 3 Gor{Tc 3 and Thorne-Broomc. 
; This thorny Broome is taken for Theophr aft us his Scorpius, which Ga\a nameth Neva . the name 
Seorpuis m Plin-j is that is to fay, fignifying many things, and common to certaine Plants : 
for 
