Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

Cornwall. Mr. Watt. Near the mill at Lilleshall, Shropshire.

Var 3. Rather more slender, of a paler hue, and the leaves somewhat less hairy. Flowers in heads. Stamens shorter than the blossom. Remarkable for its Peppermint flavor. This is M. piperita of Linnæus and Bergius, cultivated in the North of Europe for Peppermint, but distinct from what is generally used in this country.

A native of England. Herb. Banks.

Var. 4. Strikingly distinguished by its inflorescence, the head being lengthened out into a leafless spike of several whorls, more or less crowded together. Lowermost whorl generally axillary and pedunculate, sometimes elongated into a little spike. Leaves underneath paler, and considerably hairy. Blossom, as in other Mints, occasionally assuming the shape of a concave or galeated upper-lip. Spiked or capitate.

M. palustris, Sole Menth. 13. t.

6—J. B. iii. 222—Ger. Em. 685-Lob. Ic. 510.

Near Bocking. Dale. On the south west shore of Saham meer, Norfolk. Smith. Plentiful in old ditches at Glastonbury, Wedmore, Birtle, &c. Somersetshire. Sole.

Var. 5. Flowers in whorls, but the whorls so close together as to resemble a spike. Flowers large, of a pale purple colour; stamens just equal with the blossom. Smells like Sweet Marjoram.

M. paludosa, Sole Menth. 49. t. 22.

In Holt fen at Streatham, near Ely; in a river by the side of Awdry Causeway, near Haddenham in the Isle of Ely. Sole.

Var. 6. Flowers in axillary clusters from many of the uppermost leaves forming whorls, each cluster is more or less pedunculate. Length of the stamens variable.

E. Bot. t. 448.

M. sativa. Linn. (synonyms excepted). Huds. M. aquatica. Lightf. M. rivalis. var. Sole. 45. M. arvensis. var. 2. With. Ed. 4. About rivulets on the side of Shotover Hill near Oxford. Mr. T. Bobart. On the banks of the river Lea near Hackney. Mr. E. Forster. At Saham and Ashill in Norfolk; also eleven miles from Norwich in the Hingham road, and in many other places. Smith. (By the Mole at Brockham. Mr. Winch. E.) Var. 7. Verticillate, less hairy, and with rounder leaves. Dill. in Herb. Sherard.

In a ditch on the left hand of Chalk's Green, going from Braintree to Lee House. Dillwyn.

Var. 8. Whorled, very small, with an extremely fragrant odour. Herb. Buddl. M. aquatica exigua. Dill. in R. Syn. 232. (Ditches, rivulets, and other watery places. E.) By the side of the New River, near the upper end of Stoke Newington. Herb. Sherard. On Skoulton Common, near Hingham, Norfolk. Smith.

HAIRY WATER MINT. (Irish: Cartloin. Welsh: Mintys blewog. M. hirsuta. Sm. Relh. Hook. M. sativa. Tr. Linn. Soc. In ditches and watery places. Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh, several varieties. Dr. Greville. P. Aug. Sept. E.)

[blocks in formation]

(M. ACUTIFO'LIA. Flowers in whorls: leaves egg-spear-shaped, taper ing at each end: calyx covered with hairs; those of the fruitstalks horizontal.

E. Bot. 2415.

Much resembles the preceding species, but is rarely found. Leaves narrower, more pointed at each end, and more unequally serrated. Whorls altogether sessile. FRAGRANT SHARP-LEAVED MINT. M. acutifolia. Sm. Hull. M. verticillata. Mill. Banks of rivers, or streamlets. On the river Medway. Rand. Between Rochester and Chatham. Miller. (Stations recently explored without success by Sir J. E. Smith. Mr. Griffith of Garn showed me this species growing in a wet ditch on the right hand side of the road from Whitchurch to Denbigh, in the autumn of 1810.

P. Sept. E.) (M. RU'BRA. Flowers in whorls: leaves egg-shaped: stem upright, zigzag: fruit-stalks and lower part of the calyx perfectly smooth, hairy.

Sole Menth. t. 21. (cal. erroneous. Sm. E.)-E. Bot. 1413-Hort. Eyst. Est. Ord. 7. t. 5. f. 1-Moris. sect. 11. t. 7. f. 2—J. B. iii. 2. 215—Dod. Pempt.

95-Ger. Em. 680-Lob. Ic. 507.

Unknown to Linnæus. Distinguishable by its stem being smooth, reddish, zigzag, with a very few short branches curved in various directions; rising to the height of five or six feet when supported by bushes; leaves deep-green, shining, nearly smooth; blossoms large, purple. Less liable to variation than many other Mints, of which it is decidedly the tallest and handsomest.

TALL RED MINT. (Welsh: Mintys coch. E.) M. rubra. Sm. M. ver◄ ticillata. R. Syn. M. sativa. Sole. In ditches and by the sides of rivers. By Hackney river at the ferry-house. Herb. Sherard; the house remains, though no ferry since the building of Lea bridge. Peckham fields. Dillwyn. North Wales; also in various waters in Coalbrook Dale, and in a wet place between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth. Mr. Sole. By the road side between Edmonton and Enfield; also near Walthamstow. Mr. E. Forster. Under a wet hedge in the road from Watton to Saham church, Norfolk. Smith. Musselburgh. Mr. Borrer. Grev. Edin. P. Sep. E.) (M. GENTILIS. Flowers in whorls: leaves egg-shaped: stem much branched, spreading: base of the calyx and fruit-stalks nearly smooth.

Sole Menth. t. 18-E. Bot. 2118.

Herb about a foot and a half high, slightly hairy; when growing in dry ground gratefully aromatic. Stem upright, of a deep red colour, herbaceous, nearly smooth; leaves on short foot-stalks, ovate, serrated, roundish, pointed, light green, having short scattered hairs on both sides; veins reddish or whitish. Foot-stalks cylindrical, purple, often perfectly smooth. Blossoms pale purple; stamens shorter than the blossom. Merely a var. of the preceding? Hooker.

Var. 1. Leaves longer, nearly elliptical; stems three feet high, rough.
M. rivalis. a.-Sole Menth. t. 20.

In Lock's Brook between Weston and Tiverton, Somersetshire, Mr. Sole.

Var. 2. Leaves variegated with yellow or white; whorls sometimes elevated on foot-stalks half an inch long; and these, though very rarely, slightly hairy.

Sole Menth. t. 19-Moris. sect. 11 t. 7. f. 5. Variegated Mint. M. variegata. Sole. Common in gardens and about cottages, but rarely to be found truly wild.

BUSHY RED MINT. M. gentilis. Linn. M. rubra. Sole. About several villages in Shropshire. Rev. E. Williams. In pools and brooks between Mole and Llanrwst, North Wales. Mr. Sole. In a ditch at Strouds Green, near Hornsey. Month Mag. Banks of Moffat Water, below Carrifrew. Dr. Walker. Hook. Scot. P. Aug. E.) (M. GRACILIS. Flowers in whorls: leaves spear-shaped, nearly sessile: stem upright, much branched: flower-stalks and base of the calyx perfectly smooth.

Sole Menth. t. 16-E. Bot. 449.

Plant but slightly hairy; eighteen inches high; has no smell of Basil. Leaves sharp-pointed, serrated, narrowed at the base, sprinkled on both sides with short hairs, pale green. E.) Stems with more or less of a reddish tinge towards the top. Leaf-stalks flat, short. Whorls composed of two lateral umbels on very short fruit-stalks. Floral-leaves four or five under each whorl, two spear-shaped, the rest smaller and strap-shaped. Calyx slightly ribbed, coloured, sprinkled with shining dots. Blossom with white hairs on the outside, and within the tube. Stamens all of the same length, shorter than the blossom. Style half as long again as the blossom, deciduous. Germens four, on a yellowish green fleshy receptacle. Blossom pale red, (bearded at the point. E.)

(Var. 2. Stem branched only towards the top; leaves harsh, wrinkled, hairy, deeply serrated, hanging down close to the stem.

M. pratensis-Sole. t. 17.

Wet places in the New Forest, Alderbury Common, near the Roebuck, between Salisbury and Romney. Mr. Sole. E.)

Var. 3. Stem upright, almost smooth, two feet high, dark brown. Leaves smooth, long, narrow, deep green; lower ones on short foot-stalks, upper ones sessile; smelling strongly of Basil.

Sole Menth. t. 15—Moris. sect. 11. t. 7. f. 1—Ger. Em. 680. M. gentilis. Sole. M. cardiaca. Ger. Em. Frequent in ditches near towns and villages, but scarcely wild.

NARROW-LEAVED MINT. M. gracilis. Sole. Sm. M. gentilis. E. Bot. With. Ed. 4. M. rubra. Huds. In moist meadows and watery places. At Bocking and Stoke Newington. Herb. Sherard. Near Walthamstow. Mr. B. M. Forster. Near Bradford, Wilts. Sole. At Saham, and Oxborough, Norfolk. Smith. (Together with M. sylvestris and M. viridis, var. 4. on the banks of the Elwy, just above the mill-dam on a farm called Ronce, one mile from St. Asaph. Mr. Griffith. E.)

P. Aug. Sept. E.) (M. ARVEN'SIS. Flowers in whorls: leaves egg-shaped: stem much branched, spreading: calyx bell-shaped, covered all over with horizontal hairs.

Sole Menth. 29. t. 12-E. Bot. 2119-Kniph. 11—Fl. Dan. 512-Fuchs. 435
-Trag. 16. 2-Moris. sect. 11. t. 7. f. 5.
Plant pale, hoary, green, more or less downy. Stem diffusely branched.

Odour strong, occasionally resembling that of blue mouldy cheese. Calyx short, aud campanulate, clothed with long projecting hairs. These marks sufficiently distinguishing this species. E.)

CORN MINT. (Welsh: Mintys ar-dir. E.) M. arvensis of Linn. and other authors. In the borders or between the furrows of corn-fields, especially in moist places. P. June-Sept.* Var. 2. Flowers earlier, has a more shining surface, though slightly hairy. Leaves more recurved, and elliptical; stem upright.

M. præcox, Sole 31. t. 13.

In moist meadows. By the side of the Avon, near Bath, flowering about the middle of June. Mr. Sole. (By Derwentwater Lake, rear Lowdore. Mr. Winch. E.)

Var. 3. Leaves shorter and broader; smelling like Sweet Basil.

M. gentilis. Miller. On the right hand of the road from Bocking to Gossfield. Dale. At Shelford, Cambridgeshire. Mr. Wigmores. Ray. (At Prestwick Car, Northumberland. Mr. Winch. E.)

Var. 4. Leaves very broad, almost heart-shaped, marked with long parallel veins which render them rugose. Stem upright.

M. agrestis, Sole Menth. 33. t. 14-E. Bot. 2120.

Common in corn-fields and neglected gardens about Mendip Hills, Shepton Mallet, and Frome. Sole. In Sussex. Mr. Borrer. Near Trefriw; below Lligwy wood; and by the Old Park pool, near Beaumaris. Rev. Hugh Davies. E.)

(M. PULE GIUM. Flowers in whorls: leaves egg-shaped: stem prostrate: flower-stalks and calyx downy all over: teeth fringed. E.)

E. Bot. 1026-Sole Menth. 51 t. 23-Ludw. 195-Blackw. 302-Riv. 23. 1. Pulegium-Woodv. 171—Fuchs. 198—J. B. iii. 256. 2—Trag. 23—Matth. 704-Dod. 282-Lob. Obs. 266, and Ic. i. 500. 1-Ger. Em. 671. 1-Pet. 32. 2-Park. 29-Lonic. i. 114. 3-H. Ox. xi. 7. row 2. 1.

(Far less than the preceding species; the smallest of the genus; with a peculiar, acrid smell. E.) Stems with four blunt angles, hairy, branched. Leaves small, thick, slightly toothed, uunderneath set with deep semitransparent dots. Blossom twice as long as the calyx, very hairy, without; pale purple; (sometimes white. E.) Stamens equal. Pistils as long as the stamens. PENNY-ROYAL MINT. (Welsh: Brymlys; Colyddlys. E.) Pulegium. Pharm. Lond. Moist heaths and pastures. Side of a pool at Robert's End, near Hanley Castle, Worcestershire. Mr. Ballard. (In Low Holm Mire, Cumberland. Rev. J. Harriman. On Rhos y gâd, and Rhôs wen, in the parish of Llanfair y pwll, Anglesey. Welsh Bot. On the borders of a pond near Winston, Durham. Winch Guide. Side of a pool at Erdington, Warwickshire. E.) P. Aug.-Sep.t

(In some situations it is a troublesome weed to the agriculturist, the roots binding the soil, and thus obstructing pulverisation. It is readily extirpated by draining, and the drill and horse-boe husbandry. Holdich. E.)

+(Employed to remove obstructions, being stimulant and tonic. E.) The expressed juice, with a little sugar, is not an inefficacious medicine in the hooping cough. A simple and spirituous water, distilled from the dried leaves, is kept in the shops. It is prescribed in hysterical affections, and is not without considerable anti-spasmodic properties. An infusion of the plant may be used with the same intention. Musca pipiens ; Cassido viridis and equestris, and Phalæna chrysitis live upon the different species.

GLECHO'MA.*

Cal. five-cleft: Anthers converging, each pair forming a cross; (upper lip cloven. E.)

G. HEDERA CEA. Leaves kidney-shaped, crenate.

(E. Bot. 853. E.)-Ludw. 68–Vaill. 6. 5 and 6-Curst. 143-Woodv. 28Fl. Dan. 789—Riv. Mon. 67.2, H. minor—Lonic. i. 205. 2—Matt. 626— Dod. 394—Lob. Obs. 336. 2, and Ic. i. 613. 2—Ger. Em. 856. 1—Park. 677. h.-Walc.-J. B. ii. 855. 2—Ger. 705—Fuchs. 876-Blackw. 225Trag. 799.

Stamens occasionally imperfect, consisting of filaments only half the usual length, terminated by a reddish blunt point; sometimes they are furnished with anthers, pale brown, containing no pollen, and scarcely broader than the filaments. St. Roots sending out trailing sucklers. Leaves heart-kidney or heart-shaped, beset underneath with hollow dots, in which are glands secreting an essential oil; and above with little eminences, but which do not secrete any odoriferous oil, for this surface being rubbed gives out no peculiar scent, whereas the under surface affords a pleasant reviving fragrance. Blossom blue; sometimes, though rarely flesh-colour.

(Plant varying much in luxuriance. E.) Unusually upright and more hairy, in

Riv. Mon. 67. 1, Hedera terrestris-Vaill. 6. 5—Clus. ii. 38. 2—Ger. Em. 704. 6-Park. 677. a.

GILL. GROUND IVY. ALE-HOOF, or TUN-HOOF: (the terminal being a Saxon word signifying (caput) a head; as a chief ingredient. Irish: Ahair Lussa. Welsh: Eidral; Beidiawg lús. E.) Groves, hedge-banks, and shady places: (when in profusion making a beautiful appearance in spring. E.) P. April-May.

LA'MIUM.

Bloss. upper lip entire, vaulted: lower lip inversely heart-shaped; with a bristled-shaped tooth on

each side.

(From luxu, sweet wine; as affording a pleasant beverage. E.)

+ The leaves thrown into the vat with are, clarify it and give it a flavour. (It was generally used for this purpose till the reign of Henry the Eighth, about which period hops were substituted. E.) Ale thus prepared is often drank as an anti-scorbutic. An infusion of the leaves is commonly taken as tea, and proves slightly tonic, expectorant, and aperient. The expressed juice, mixed with a little wine, and applied morning and evening, destroys the white specks upon horses' eyes. The plants that grow near it do not flourish. -It is said to be hurtful to horses if they eat much of it. Sheep eat it; horses are not fond of it; cows, goats, and swine refuse it. Little protuberances, composed of many cells, are sometimes found upon the leaves, and are occasioned by insects, (especially gallgnats, Cecidomyiæ. Latr. Tipule. Linn. E.) Phalana libatrix and Cynips Glechome live upon it. Lion. (Anthidium manicatum may occasionally be detected in the act of collecting the tomentum from this and other plants furnished with short woolly hair or down, for the purposes of nidification. Curt. pl. 61. E.)

(Various are the conjectures respecting the derivation of this name.

Ambrosinus indi

cates the most direct etymology from Aaruos, the throat, alluding to the shape of the flower: from which word also that of Lamia itself, as the appellation of a certain voracious beast or fish, or of a sorceress supposed to devour children, evidently originated. E.)

« AnteriorContinua »