M YGSO T I S. 
Merret mentions two varieties). One with widerleaves, 
vei'y hairy, and larger flowers, appearing earlier than the 
common fort; this grows in woods only, and owes its 
ftiperior fize probably to its damp (haded lituation. It 
was obferved by Mr. James Sherard on the weft of Charl- 
ton-wood, and between Redgwell and Batham-end (or 
Bathon-inn) in pjflex by Mr. Dale, and is figured in Dil- 
lenius’s edition of Ray’s Synopfis. The other fmall, 
rough-haired, with yellow' flowers, appearing in April, 
and occurring in very dry fandy paftures; in fuch a foil 
the blue border of the corolla is very fmall, and foine- 
times is fcarcely expanded, fo that it appears to be wholly 
yellow. 
13 . M. fcorpioides paluflris, or mavfli moufe-ear fcor¬ 
pion-grafs. Haller, who feparates this from the preced¬ 
ing, fays that the root is larger, long, black,'and peren¬ 
nial ; the ftem higher; the leaves larger; the flower much 
larger, and of a paler colour. He makes Merret’s firft va¬ 
riety to be a variety of this; and this is. what Curtis 
feems to have figured for the paluftris, for the plant in 
his figure is very hairy, which the true paluftris is not. 
According to him, the root runs out to a great length 
through the water, and fends down fibres from the joints. 
Stalk creeping at bottom, afterwards upright, from one 
to two feet high, round, foiid, branched, fmooth, but 
often hairy. Leaves alternate, lanceolate, feffile, fiightly 
decurrent, fmooth or hirfute, the edge often rolled back. 
Racemes long, dichotomous, divaricating, the tops rolled 
in. Flowers peduncled and growing all one way: pe¬ 
duncles alternate, upright. They are much larger than 
thofe of the other, are remarkable for their beauty and 
delicacy, fomewhat refemble blue enamel, and are a very 
pretty ornament for the edges of ponds. 
Leers thus diftinguifties them: arvenjis has a fibrous 
annual root; ftem branched ; leaves hirfute; calyx deeply 
five-cleft, clofing as the feed ripens: flieep do not eat the 
plant: paluftris has a creeping perennial root; ftem fome¬ 
what branched; leaves fmooth; calyx a little open even when 
the feed is ripe : it is noxious, and even deadly, to Iheep. 
This notion of Myofotis paluftris being deadly to flieep, 
is deprived from Linnaeus, and I very much liifpect (lays 
Mr. ProfeiTor Martyn) that it is erroneous : it has this 
bad character in common with many otheraquatic plants, 
as Drofera, Pinguicula, Hydrocotyle, &c. which I believe 
flieep never eat. 
“ It appears to me (continues Mr. M.) that M. arvenfis 
is villofe or very hairy, with fmaller flowers in all foils 
and fituations ; M. paluftris is fmooth, with larger paler 
flowers, moft exquiiitely elegant. It feems to flower 
later; for, whilft I am writing this article, at the begin¬ 
ning of June, M. arvenfis is in full flower, and fome of 
it even going off; and I cannot find a Angle l'pecimen of 
M. paluftris in flow'er, to compare with it. I firft difco- 
\ered M. paluftris in flower on the nth of June. The 
root is truly repent ; the whole plant is of a much paler 
green ; the ftem is fomewhat hairy, but fcarce vifibly 
fo, except towards the top; the leaves are all lanceolate, 
none of them fo broad at the bafe as in the arvenfis, and 
I cannot difcover any hairs on them ; the corolla is four 
times as large as the largeft of arvenfis, being more than 
three eighths of an inch in diameter, of an elegant pale 
blue, like fmalt, with a large deep yellow eye.” 
y. Allioneand Villars have another variety, which they 
have adopted as a fpecies from Haller, and he from 
Scheuchzer and Seguier, and have named M. liana. It is 
a very low plant, not <;ven three inches in height, with a 
very thick tuft of leaves. Leaves rour.difti, like thofe of 
Thymus ferpyllum, fubhirfute. Spike fmall, few-flow¬ 
ered, feldom many more than three ; but a Angle flower 
occupies the whole, being large, and of a very bright blue 
colour; calyx bearded with a long filky pile. It forms 
foiid tufts on the higheft precipices : it is perennial, and 
common on the Alps. Villars infills that this is a diftinft 
fpecies; but fituation changes this plant fo much, that 
we folpedf it tp he no more than a variety. Dr. Smith 
has made both this and the preceding diftindl fpecies. 
2. Myofotis fruticofa,-or Ihrubby fccrpion-grafs: feeds 
fmooth and even ; fcem Ihrubby, fmooth, and even. Stem 
a foot high, woody, perennial, even. Branches many, 
flowering at the top. Leaves alternate, linear, almoll 
ever., with a few hairs prefted clofe. Spikes terminating, 
with the flowers pointing one way, not peduncled. Flow¬ 
ers and fruits minute. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
3. Myofotis Virginiana, or Virginian fcorpion-grafs : 
feeds with hooked prickles; leaves ovate-oblong; branches 
divaricating. This is an annual plant. Leaves large. 
Seeds naked on the ir.fide, angular, erect, fixed at the bale, 
as in the following fpecies. Fruit nodding. Native of 
Virginia: cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1768. 
4. Myofotis' lappula, or prickly-feeded lcorpion-grafs : 
feeds with hooked prickles ; leaves lanceolate, hairy. 
This alfo is' annual. Stem from nine or ten inches to 
eighteen inches in height, eredt, round, fomewhat rugged. 
Branches alternate. Flowers very fmall, not from the 
axils, but on the fide oppolite to the leaf, at the branches, 
on fliort peduncles; corolla bright blue. Calyx open 
when the feed is ripe ; feeds fmall, coriaceous, ovate- 
acuminate, lhagreened ail over with bony pointed dots, 
on one fide convex, and muricated at the (ides with a 
double row of hooked prickles, angular on the other. 
Goertner calls thefe fruits nuts, the feed being covered 
with a Ihell. Villars obferves, that this little plant has alt 
the port or air of a Cynogloffijin. Native of many parts 
of Europe, as Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Swuf- 
land, and Italy: it was cultivated in 1683 by Mr. James 
Sutherland, and flowers from April to Auguft. 
5. Myofotis fpinocarpos, or thorny-feeded fcorpion- 
grafs : feeds muricate-fpiny; racemes leafy, with the 
flowers remote; leaves linear, hairy. Stems woody at the 
bafe, dift’ufed, dichotornoully branched at top, clofely 
hairy, aili-coloured, as is the whole-plant. Flowers fmall, 
white. 
6. Myofotis apula, or fmall fcorpion-grafs: feeds naked ; 
leaves hifpid ; racemes leafy. Root reddilh, annual. 
Stems Ample or branched, a ipan high. Flowers in ter¬ 
minating racemes, recurved at the end ; calyx whitilh 
with pubefcence, (welling at the bafe, deeply five-parted; 
fegments converging, acute; corolla deep fulphur-co- 
loured, funnel-form. On account of the fituation of the 
ftamens, and the integrity of the petals, Cavanilles re¬ 
moves this fpecies into the genus Anchufa, where Lobel 
had placed it before : Willdenow and Dr. Smith remove 
it to Lithofpennum. Native of the fouth of Europe; as 
France, ©Spain, and Italy; alfo of Japan, where it flowers 
in April : about Madrid it flowers in March : with us in 
June and July. Cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1768. 
7. Myofotis fpatulata, or fpatule-leaved fcorpion-grafs : 
feeds fmooth and even ; leaves fpatulate, hifpid ; pedun¬ 
cles axillary,ifolitary, one-flowered. Native of New Zea¬ 
land. 
8. Myofotis rupeftris, or rock fcorpion-grafs : feeds 
fmooth; leaves linear, villous; chillers alternate. A 
very common little plant in tlony expofed fituations^ on 
the hills of Dauria, where it produces a fucceffion of 
flowers from May through the fumraer. Root perennial. 
Ample, thread-ftiaped. Stems three inches long, Ipread- 
ing and afcending, rather hairy. Flowers of a deep azure 
colour, with a yellow' throat. 
9. Myofotis fquai'rola, or fquarrofe fcorpion-grafs : 
feeds angulated, with hooked brillles ; leaves lanceolate, 
hairy, callous at the tip. Found in Siberia, near the river 
Wolga. Root annual, branched. Stem (when culti¬ 
vated) two feet high, roundilh, hairy, denfely branched ; 
lower branches Ihorter. Flowers in long loofe clullers, 
alternate, fmall, blue, with a yellow throat. Seeds beau¬ 
tifully befet at the angles, with two rows of uncinated 
brillles. The above defcription is from Retzius, who 
feems to think that what Pallas mentions as a variety 
of M. lappula, growing near the Wolga, is the prefent 
fpecies. 
10. Myofotis echinophora, or echinophorous fcorpion- 
grafs : feeds covered with hooked prickles; flower-llalks 
thickened 
