368 
PHY 
19. Phyteuma amplexicaulis, or toothed horned tam¬ 
pion : leaves embracing, cordate, ovate ; doubly-ferrate ; 
flowers fcattered. Stem, roundj fmooth, Ample, leafy ; 
leaves fmooth. Flowers on the upper part of the ftem, 
corolla of the fame Aze and appearance with P. fpicata. 
Thefe are both natives of the Levant, and were found by 
Tournefort. 
20. Phyteuma pinnatum, or winged-leaved horned 
rampion : leaves pinnate; flowers in cymes. Flowers 
the largeft of any of the fpecies, in many-flowered, fcat¬ 
tered alternate cymes, difpofed on the upper naked part 
of the ftem. Native of the ifland of Candia, or Crete. 
Propagation and Culture. All the European forts are 
hardy plants, which will thrive in the open air. They 
are propagated by feeds, which fhould be Town in autumn ; 
for, if they are kept out of the ground till the fpring, 
they frequently fail, or at leaft lie a year in the ground. 
Thefe feeds fhould be fown on a bed of frefli undunged 
earth where they are deflgned to remain, for they do not 
thrive fo well when they are tranfplanted ; therefore the 
belt method is to make fmall drills acrofs the bed about 
eighteen inches afunder, and fow the feeds therein ; then 
cover them lightly over with earth ; for, if they are 
buried too deep, they will rot in the ground. In the 
following fpring the plants will come up, when they 
fhould be diligently weeded, which is all the care they 
require; only they Ihould be thinned where they are too 
clofe, fo as to leave them flx or feven inches apart in the 
rows, and afterwards they require no farther attention but 
to keep them clear from weeds. In June the plants will 
flower; and, if the fummer prove favourable, they will 
produce ripe feeds. As thefe plants do not continue 
above two or three years, there fhould be feeds fown 
every other year to continue the forts. They are plants 
which require little trouble to cultivate them, and their 
flowers make a pretty variety in large gardens 5 therefore 
they may be allowed a place amongft other hardy flowers. 
See Lobelia and Reseda. 
PHYTIV'OROUS, adj. [from the Gr. Qvtov, a plant, 
and the Lat. voro, to devour.] That eats grafs or any 
vegetable.—Hairy animals with only twm large fore-teeth, 
are all phytovorous, and called the hare kind. Ray. 
PHYTOG'RAPHY, j. [from the Gr. (pvrov, a plant, 
and y%u(pu, to write.] A defcription of plants. 
PHYTOLAC'CA,/! [fo called by Tournefort, from the 
Gr. tpvlov, a plant; and lacca, a barbarous word, deflgnating 
a kind of colouring fubftance, becaufe the berries of 
feveral fpecies of this genus afford a beautiful, though 
not lafting, purple or crimfon dye.] In botany, a genus 
of the clafs decandria, order decagynia, natural order of 
mifcellaneae, (atriplices, Juff.) Generic characters— 
Calyx none, unlefs the corolla be called a coloured calyx. 
Corolla: petals flve, roundifli, concave, fpreading, bent 
in at top, permanent. Stamina: Alaments eight or ten 
or twenty, awl-fhaped, the length of the corolla; antheras 
roundifh, lateral. Piftillum : germ orbiculate, deprefled, 
divided external!}' by fwellings, ending in eight or ten 
very fhort, fpreading-refiex, llyles. Pericarpiuin : berry 
orbiculate, deprefled, marked with ten longitudinal 
grooves, umbilicated with the piftils, and having as many 
cells. Seeds foiitary, kidney-form, fmooth. Ph. dioica 
has the fexes diftind. There is one fpecies with eight, 
and another with twenty, ftamens .—EJfential Char (idler. 
Calyx none; petals Ave, calycine; berry fuperior, ten- 
celled, ten-feeded. The fructiflcation is fhown on the 
Botany Plate X. Ag. 10. There are Ax fpecies. 
1. Phytolacca heptandra, or ereCt phytolacca : flowers 
feven-ftamened, Ax-ftyled ; leaves lanceolate. Root pe¬ 
rennial. Stem two feet high, branched, upright, Itriated, 
hollow. Leaves fcattered, petioled, lanceolate, quite en¬ 
tire, fmooth, an inch and a half in length. Flowers ra- 
cemed, pedicelled, with fome awl-lhaped little bradles 
near and above the bafe ; corolla white, green underneath, 
fpreading. It is much fmallerand more tender than the 
other forts. Native of America.. 
PHY 
2. Phytolacca o&andra, or white-flowered phytolacca : 
flowers eight-ftamened, eight-ftyled. This has the ftature 
cf the common fort, Ph. decandra; but the leaves are 
whiter. Calyx and corolla white, quite flat and not con¬ 
cave ; fruit red. Native of Mexico. Cultivated in 1732, 
by James Sherard, M. D. It flowers from July to No¬ 
vember. 
According to Mr. Miller, Dr. Houftoun found it at 
Vera Cruz, where the inhabitants conftantly ufed it at 
their tables. It feldom continues longer than two years ; 
and, when it flowers and feeds plentifully the flrft year, the 
plants frequently die before the following fpring. The 
ftalk is herbaceous, two feet high, about the Aze of a 
man’s Anger, and divides at top into two or three 
fhort branches. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, near Ax inches 
long, and aliuoft three broad; they have a ftrong midrib, 
and feveral tranfverfe veins, are of a deep green, and the 
fooftalks are an inch and half long. The peduncles come 
out from the Ade of the branches oppoftte to the leaves, 
and are feven or eight inches long; tlie lower part, about 
two inches in length, is naked; the remainder has feflile 
flowers, white with a blufh of purple in the middle, cut 
into flve fegments almoft to the bottom, and having from 
eight to fourteen ftamens, and ten ftyles. Berries flat, 
with ten deep furrows; cells the fame number, with one 
or two fmooth feeds in each. Browne calls it Spanijk 
Calaloe ; and fays it is a native of Jamaica, now cultivated 
in molt of the kitchen-gardens. It is a palatable whole- 
fome green : the tender ftalks are frequently ferved up 
for afparagus, and often prove a very agreeable fucceda- 
neum. Thunberg, on the contrary, affirms that it is 
extremely poifonous; and relates, that, having been 
eaten by two Japonefe fervants, one of them was eight 
days in recovering, and the other fullered duringa much 
longer time. Probably different fpecies are confounded 
in thefe accounts. 
3. Phytolacca decandra, branching phytolacca, or 
Virginian poke-weed ; (Solanum magnum Virginianum 
rubrum, Parlt. thcat. 347. 8. S. raceinofum Americanum, 
Raii Hift. 662. P/uh. plnjt. t. 225. f. 3.) Flowers ten- 
ftamened, ten-ftyled. Root very thick and flefhy, as 
large as a man’s leg, divided into feveral thick fldhy 
branches, which run deep in the ground. Stems three 
or four, herbaceous, as large as a good walking-ftick, of a 
purple-colour, Ax or feven feet high, dividing into many 
branches at the top. Leaves flve inches long, and two 
inches and a half broad, rounded at their bale, but ter¬ 
minating in a point, placed without order, on Ihort foot- 
ftalks; they are of a deep green, and in the autumn 
change to a purplilh colour. The peduncles come out 
from the joints and diviAons of the branches, and are 
about Ave inches long; the lower part is naked, but the 
upper half fuftains a number of flowers ranged on each 
Ade, like common currants. Each flower ftands upon a 
pedicel half an incli long; and the petals are purplilh. 
Berry deprefled, with ten furrows ; having ten cells, 
Ailed with fmooth feeds. It flowers in July and Auguft, 
and in warm feafons the berries ripen in autumn. Native 
of Swifferland, Spain, and Portugal; of Barbary, near 
Algiers ; Virginia, Georgia, New England ; Jamaica. It 
was cultivated here in 1640, as appears from Parkinlon ; 
who informs us that the inhabitants of North America 
ufe the juice of the root as a common purge. An'ounce 
of the dried root, infufed in a pint of wine, and given to 
the quantity of two fpoonfuls, operates kindly as an 
emetic, and is preferable to moft others, as it hardly alters 
the tafte of the wine. The roots are applied to the hands 
and feet in ardent fevers. Farriers give a decodfion of 
them to drench cattle; and apply them in form of poul¬ 
tice for difcuflmg tumours. . Poultry are fond of the ber¬ 
ries; but, if eaten in large quantities, they give the flelh 
a difagreeable flavour. The juice (tains paper and linen 
of a beautiful purple colour, but it will not laft long; if 
a method could be found of Axing the dye, it might be 
very ufeful. The vignerons in Portugal for many years 
ufed 
