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MITCHAM : ITS PHYSIC GARDENERS AND PLANTS. 
MITCHAM : ITS PHYSIC GARDENERS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
V. HENBANE. 
In the notices of the Mitcham physic gardens, by Lysons, Mal- 
colm, and others, no mention is made of henbane. We may, 
therefore, infer that its cultivation at Mitcham is comparatively 
modern. 
Two varieties of henbane (Hyoscyamus niger y Linn.) are cul- 
tivated by the herb-growers at Mitcham, the biennial and the an- 
nual. 
Var. a, biennis. Biennial black henbane. — The plants of this 
variety are stronger, more fully developed and branched, more 
clammy, and possessing in a higher degree the downy character 
and peculiar odor of the plant. The leaves are deeply incised, 
and the flowers reticulated with deep purple veins. During the 
first year of its growth, the plant has no aerial stem, all the leaves 
being radical and stalked. In the autumn these leaves die, but 
the root survives the winter, and in the following spring sends 
up an aerial stem, which grows to the height of two, three, 
or four feet. The plant flowers towards the end of xWay, or in 
June. 
Var. b annua. Annual black henbane. — This was at one time 
considered to be a distinct species, and was called Hyoscyamus 
agrestris. It is now admitted to be a variety only. The root is 
annual, the stem smaller, less branching, and less downy, the leaves 
less deeply incised or sinuated, less hairy and clammy. It flowers 
in July or August. Altogether it may be considered as a weaker 
and shorter-lived variety. Not unfrequently its carolla is devoid 
of the purple veins. This peculiarity was at one time thought 
to indicate a distinct species, which was named Hyoscyamus pal- 
lidus. 
Miller mentions in his Gardener's Dictionary that a variety of H. 
niger was found by Professor John Marlyn, near the castle at Cam- 
bridge, about the year 1729, with the corolla and anthers of a 
pure brimstone color, without the least tinge of purple. The seeds 
being sown in the botanic garden at Chelsea, produced that very 
same variety. But he does not say whether this was an annual or 
biennial sort. 
Mr. Babington states that this non-reticulated sub-variety grows 
