Imatges de pàgina
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all reddish. Flowers from ten to twenty in each whorl. Calyx chiefly hairy at the teeth. Flowers pale, streaked with deeper blue. E. Bot. ALPINE BUGLE. (A. pyramidalis. Huds. A. Genevensis. With. Ed. 3. E.) Mountains. (Mountains of Aberdeenshire. Mr. David Don. E.) Carnedd Llewelyn, Carnarvonshire. Ray. (On the flat near the summit of that mountain. Mr. Griffith. On the mountain that leads from Matlock into the town of Castleton, on the left hand side, immediately adjoining the road. Mr. Dawson Turner. It is erroneously stated in English Botany that this plant has been found in Durham by Mr. Robson; the specimen he sent to Mr. Sowerby was from his own garden. Mr. Winch. P. June-July. E.)

A. REP'TANS. Plant smooth: stem solitary, throwing out creeping suckers: leaves egg-shaped, scolloped.

(E. Bot. 489. E.)-Curt.-Fl. Dan. 925-Sheldr. 35-Riv. Mon. 75. 1, Bugula-Fuchs. 391-J. B. iii. 430. 2 and 3-Walc.-Kniph. 3-Trag. 311-Blackw. 64. 1-Lonic. i. 145. 2-H, Ox. xi. 5. row 3. 1-Barr. 337 and 338-Matth. 962-Dod. 135. 2-Lob. Obs. 252. 1, and Ic. i. 475. 2Ger. Em. 631. 1-Park. 525—Ger. 506. 1.

In high and dry situations it becomes somewhat hairy, the stem less distinctly four-sided, the spike tapering upwards; the creepers short; approaching to 4. Genevensis, but has only one stem from a root whilst the latter has many. Gough. Leaves egg-shaped. Root-leaves scolloped, on leafstalks. Stem-leaves nearly entire, sessile, in opposite cross pairs; the upper purplish. Blossom blue, red, or white, in a long leafy spike, (lower lip four-cleft. Sm. Stem solitary, upright, nearly a foot high, quadrangular, leafy, tinged with purple. E.)

COMMON BUGLE. (Irish: Glassan heile. Welsh: Golchenid cyffredin; Glesyn y coed. E.) Moist meadows, pastures, and woods. The variety with white blossoms has been observed by the Editor in a field at Smallheath, near Birmingham. In Anglesey, by the Rev. Hugh Davies. Abounds in the Isle of Wight. Sir J. E. Smith. E.)

P. May-July. A. CHAME PITYS. Leaves three-cleft, strap-shaped, very entire : flowers sessile, lateral, solitary: stem spreading, branched.

E. Bot. 77-Kniph. 8-Ludw. 130-Riv. Mon. 14. 1, Chamœpitys-Ft. Dan. 733-H. Óx. xi. 22. row 3. 1—Dod. 46. 1—Lob. Obs. 207. 2, and Ic. i, 382. 2-Ger. Em. 525. 1-Matth. 940-Ger. 421. 1-Park. 283. 1— Fuchs. 886—J, B. iii, 295. 1 and 2-Trag. 80-Blackw. 528—Lonic. i.

159.2.

(Plant viscid. Stems hairy, purplish. E.) Leaves hairy, the lower entire, the rest cloven deeper and deeper till the upper ones are almost divided to the base; segments strap-shaped. Flowers nearly unilateral, single, or in pairs. Calyx very hairy. Blossom (yellow; upper lip short, notched; E.) lower lip, middle segment somewhat heart-shaped, smooth, spotted with red, the rest very hairy. Woodw.

(YELLOW BUGLE. E.) GROUND PINE. Teucrium Chamapitys. Linn. Huds. Relh. Dicks. Oed. Ehrh. But the structure of the upper lip of the blossom is not like that of Teucrium, deeply divided with the stamens standing in the division, but short and slightly notched as in Ajuga. On this account it has been removed from the former genus by Haller, Schreber, and Smith.

Sandy fallow-fields. About the borders of Triplow heath, Cambridgeshire; about Rochester and Dartford. Roehill. (Corn-fields about Tunbridge Wells. Forster. Frequent in Surry and Kent. At St. David's, Pembrokeshire, on the walls and houses. Sir T. G. Cullum. In cornfields near Purfleet, Essex. Mr. E. Forster, jun. Dry pastures on Luton Downs, Bedfordshire. Mr. J. Sibley. Bot. Guide. Juniper Hill, Box Hill, and near Epsom, Surry. Mr. Winch. E.) A. April-June.* TEU'CRIUM. Upper lip erect, deeply divided, even below the base: stamens in the division.

T. CHAME'DRYS. Leaves wedge-egg-shaped, cut, scolloped, on leafstalks flowers axillary, three together: stems nearly cylindrical, somewhat hairy.

(E. Bot. 680. E.)-Woodv. 243-Kniph. 11-Tourn. 97. 1. B.-Sheldr. 87 -Blackw. 180-Riv. Mon. 10-Fuchs. 869—J. B. iii. 288. 1-Ger. 530. 1, 2, and 3—Matth. 818-Trag. 204—Lonic. i. 62. 4- Dod. 43. 1 and 2 —Lob. Obs. 260. 1, and Ic. i. 491. 1 and 2-Ger. Em. 656. 1 and 2-Park. 104-H. Ox. xi. 22, 10 and 11—Clus. i. 351. 1.

Leaves entire at the base, hairy; the upper oval-spear-shaped, often purple. Flowers on fruit-stalks. Woodw. Calyx, the upper segment broadest, the two lower ones narrowest, beset with white globules. Blossom reddish purple, externally with white globules; middle segment of the lower lip lopped, with a double row of hairs at the base. (Stems nearly upright, branched, six to twelve inches high. E.)

GERMANDER. WALL GERMANDER. (Irish: Niulurah.) On ancient walls.
Borders of Corn-fields far from any house. Ruins of Winchelsea Castle.
Dr. Sherard, in Ray. Norwich city walls. Mr. Crowe. In the area of
Carisbrook Castle in the Isle of Wight. Dr. Stokes. Whittingham Castle,
near Oswestry. Rev. S. Dickenson. (On old hedge-banks near Gateshead
Park engine, Durham. Winch Guide. On old walls at Balgavis, east
of Forfar; and at Kelly, east of Arbroath, Angushire. Mr. G. Don.
Hook. Scot. E.)
P. June-July.t

T. SCORODO'NIA. Leaves heart-shaped, serrated, stalked: flowers in lateral bunches, unilateral: stem erect.

Curt. 295-Kniph. 11-(E. Bot. 1543. E.)-Blackw. 9-Dod. 291-Lob. Obs. 262. 1, and Ic. i. 497. 2-Ger. Em. 662-Park. 111. 2-H. Ox. xi. 20. 15-Riv. Mon. 12–Fl. Dan. 485—Trag. 15. 2—Lonic. i. 112. 3—J. B. iii. 295. 1, and 294.

Stem acutely quadrangular, hairy, (leafy, a foot high, or more. E.) Branches, opposite. Leaves heart-spear-shaped, opposite, wrinkled, (slightly viscid, aromatic, bitter. E.) Flowers in pairs. Calyx a little woolly, upper lip broad, reflexed; the lower with four very shallow clefts terminating in pointed incurved teeth. Blossom straw-coloured, woolly; tube longer than the calyx; upper lip none, but the top of the tube slightly cloven: (Stamens violet-colour, exserted. E.)

This plant has a degree of bitterness and acrimony, but its real use is far from being accurately ascertained. It stands recommended in the gout, jaundice, and intermitting fevers.

The herb is bitter, with a degree of aroma, and may be used with advantage in weak and relaxed constitutions. It is an ingredient in the celebrated gout powders.

WOOD SAGE. WOOD or SAGE GERMANDER. (Welsh: Triagl y cymro; Chwerwlys yr eithin. E.) Woods, heaths, thickets, and ditch banks.

P. July.

T. SCOR'DIUM. Leaves oblong, sessile, toothed, nearly naked: flowers in pairs, on fruit-stalks, axillary: stem pubescent, spreading. (E. Bot. 828. E.)—Blackw. 475—Fl. Dan. 593—Woodv. 57—Matth. 842— Ger. 534. 1 and 2-Trag. 885-Riv. Mon. 11, Scordium-Dod. 126. 2Lob. Obs. 261. 3, and Ic. i. 497. 1-Ger. Em. 661-Park. 111. 1-H. Ox. 11. 22. 14-Lonic. i. 196. 3-Fuchs. 776—J. B. iii. 292. 2. Stem hairy, (somewhat branched, nearly prostrate. E.) Leaves an inch long, sessile, tapering and entire at the base, serrated upwards, those at the top of the branches oval-spear-shaped, nearly entire. Calyx hairy, purplish. Lower flowers often solitary. Woodw. (Flowers purplish, the middle lobe spotted. E.)

WATER GERMANDER. Marshes in the Isle of Ely. Between Cambridge and Histon; Waterbeach; Cottenham. (On the banks of the Isis near High-bridge, and on Enesham Common, Oxon. Sibthorp. E.)

P. July-Aug.t NEP'ETA. Bloss. middle segment of the lower lip scolloped : Mouth, the edges reflexed: Stamens approaching.

N. CATA'RIA. Flowers in spikes: whirls on short fruit-stalks: leaves on leaf-stalks, heart-shaped, tooth serrated, downy.

E. Bot. 137-Blackw. 455-Fl. Dan. 580-Kniph. 9—Dod. 99—Lob. Obs. 276. 1, and Ic. i. 511. 1—Ger. Em. 682. 1-Pet. 32. 1—Matth. 719Lonic. i. 112. 1-Riv. Mon. 52, Nepeta-Trag. 15. 1—Ger. 554. 1—H. Or. xi. 6. row 2, 3.

(Two or three feet high. E.) Whorls mostly turned to one side of the stem. Calyx downy, with green ribs. Blossom white, with a tinge of red, and spotted with purple; tube nearly straight; lower lip, middle segment with six or seven equal teeth turned upwards, with a tuft of white bristles at the base. Stamens rather longer than the upper lip. (Stem and leaves hoary. The whole plant exhales an aromatic odour. È.) NEP. CAT-MINT. (Welsh: Mintys y gath. E.) Pastures and hedges in calcareous soil. Near Bungay. Mr. Woodward. Wick Cliffs,

Glostershire. Mr. Swayne. On the beach at Rampside, Low Furness. Mr. Atkinson. (Oversley, Warwickshire, by the sides of the turnpike road. Purton. Near Moel y don ferry, Anglesey. Welsh Bot. Road side between Culross and Kincardine. Maughan. Hook. Scot. About

The people of Jersey are said to make use of it in brewing, (calling it Ambroise. E.) It possesses the bitterness and a good deal the flavour of hops. (In Young's Annals of Agriculture is a dissertation by the Rev. P. Laurents, highly extolling this plant as a substitute for hops. Dr. Rutty confirms the idea of its possessing qualities worthy attention; as does the name, Ambrosia, bestowed on it by some authors. E.)

+ The fresh leaves are bitter and somewhat pungent. Powdered, they destroy worms. A decoction of this plant is a good fomentation in gangrenous cases. If cows eat it when compelled by hunger, their milk acquires a garlic flavour. Sheep and goats eat it. Horses, cows, and swine refuse it.

(From nepa, a scorpion; it being reputed efficacious against the bite of that reptile. E.)

shire.

Whitchurch, near Denbigh, and in many places by the road side between Denbigh and Ruthin. E.) Dudley Castle: Needwood Forest, StaffordP. July. VERBE'NA.+ Bloss. funnel-shaped, curved; segments nearly equal: Calyx, one of its teeth shorter: Seeds two or four, naked.

V. OFFICINA LIS. Spikes slender, panicled: leaves deeply laciniate: stem solitary.

(E. Bot. 767. E.)—Ludw. 149-Curt.-Kniph. 4-Riv. Mon. 56, Verbena -Woodv. 218-Walc.-Clus. ii. 45. 2—Dod. 150. 1-Lob. Obs. 289. 2, and Ic. i. 534. 2-Ger. Em. 718. 1-Park. 675. 1—Fl. Dan. 628-Blackw. 41 -Trag. 210-Matth. 1052-Ger. 580. 1-Fuchs. 593-J. B. iii. 443— Lonic. i. 138. 2.

Lower-leaves deeply lobed, and jagged, the upper three-cleft, or simple. Woodward. Stem nearly quadrangular, panicled. Flowering branches in opposite pairs. Floral-leaves spear-shaped. Calyx one of the teeth much smaller and shorter than the rest, but not lopped; angles hairy. Blossom small; tube fringed at the top with hairs; mouth with two lips, the upper cloven into two, the lower into three nearly equal segments; purplish. Stamens four, two of them longer. Seeds four, (the pellicle evanescent, leaving them naked. E.) The structure of the flower and fruit must inevitably lead the English Botanist to look for it in this Class, though Linnæus has placed it in Diandria, because the greater number of species have only two stamens. (Root woody, branched. Stem one foot and a half high, upright, rough with scattered prickles,

An infusion of it is deemed a specific in chlorotic cases. Two ounces of the expressed juice may be given for a dose. Cats are so delighted with this plant, especially when withered, that they can hardly be kept out of the garden wherein it grows, (rolling themselves on it, tearing it up, and chewing it with evident pleasure. These animals are also affected with a like whimsical predilection for Teucrium Marum. E.) However inexplicable, Miller confirms the old saying, "If you set it, the cats will eat it; if you sow it, the cats will not know it." It cannot well be planted without being more or less bruised. Stokes. Sheep eat it. Cows, horses, goats, aud swine refuse it.

(From the Celtic name Ferfaen, and probably referring to its use in the rites of heathen worship, and the idolatrous sacrifices of the pagans. "Vainly conceiting," as a sensible old writer observes," that it could drive away the devil, whose great design has ever been to entice ignorant men, by such subtile craft, to sorcery and witchcraft; by trusting to creatures, more than the Creator, which is one accursed way of taking God's name in vain." "Thus have I seen," says the same author, "a man wearing an iron ring made of the clasps of a dead man's coffin, to cure the rheumatism! But those who prescribe such charms are no better than wizards; and those who use them, may say the devil is their helper; which homologates the renouncing of the Covenant of God." Equally efficacious is the notable" Muscus innatus cranio humano," the moss growing on a dead man's scull, an Irish specific, according to Threlkeld, “where the poor people, who are naturally hospitable, being misled by restless companions, run into war, foolishly thinking to throw off the blessing of the English government." Well would it be if all such pretended amulets were put to the test practised by Albert, Duke of Saxony, on a juggler who offered thus to impart infallibility to him. "Well," quoth the Duke," that I may be sure of it, I will make the trial first upon thee;" so drew his sword, and hacked the fellow insomuch that neither by the Shemham-phorasch, nor by the hanging of the Kamea, (a parchment wherein the sacred names were written), could he be cured."-We should blush to record errors so gross, and long since consigned to oblivion, did not the peculiar "signs of the times," indicate a revival even of such absurdities, E.)

curved at the bottom. Stamens very short, inclosed within the tube of the blossom. Fl. Brit. E.) VERVAIN. SIMPLER'S JOY. (Welsh: Cas gan gythraul; Llys yr hudol q. d. Enchanter's plant. E.) "A waste-loving plant." Stone walls, sides of great roads, (and about villages. Rare in Scotland. E.) At the foot of St. Vincent's Rocks along the course of the river, very plentiful. (Banks of Tyne at Bywell, and the Riding, Northumberland; and near Darlington, Durham. Winch Guide. On the Point, near Beaumaris. Welsh Bot. Without the gates of Inverkeithing. Dr. Parsons, in Lightf. In the lower part of the grounds of Wick House, Brislington, Somersetshire, near the Withy bed. Prevalent about Teignmouth. Undercliff, Isle of Wight. E.) P. Aug. Sept.

* (Vervain has so little pretension to sensible qualities, or even to external attraction, that it is surprising it should have acquired such general notoriety, either for its medicinal virtues as a deobstruent, especially efficacious in the cure of scrophula; or for the more mystic powers in times past universally attributed to it; for it was believed to be capable of curing the bites of all rabid animals, arresting the progress of the venom of serpents, reconciling antipathies, conciliating friendships, &c. And yet there is no well-grounded reason to doubt our plant being the genuine "Herba Sacra" of the ancients; in honour of which Verbenalia were annually held; and one of several which were more immediately appropriated to the use of the altar and the decoration of the priesthood: though it must be admitted that the dry harsh nature of our herb but ill accords with the "pinguis Verbena" of Virgil, any more than with the prevalent idea of an evergreen. Vervain was usually offered as a pledge of mutual good faith between the Romans and their enemies; as in the solemn league between Tullus Hostilius and the Albans; and may, in powerful protection, be deemed equivalent to the more modern flag of truce: for, on like occasions, as Drayton observes,

"A wreath of Vervain heralds wear."

Ambassadors and heralds at arms likewise wore chaplets of Vervain on denouncing war or conveying messages of defiance. But surely these usages would seem to imply some more ostensible production.

Where

"Dark superstition's whisper dread
Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread,"

the sanctimonious Druid instilled veneration for the Vervain nearly equal to that claimed for the Misseltoe: and thus Mason describes its connexion with these solemn incantations,

"Lift your boughs of Vervain blue

Dipt in cold September dew;

And dash the moisture, chaste and clear,

O'er the ground, and through the air.

Now the place is purg'd and pure."

Vestiges of these superstitions, though extinct in Britain, may still be traced in Germany and some parts of France, where the rustics are wont to gather the plant under certain phases of the moon, accompanied by unintelligible cabalistic ejaculations, believing that the herb thus procured will operate as a charm against every calamity, natural or supernatural, and even possess the power

"That hind'reth witches of their will."

Vain were it to revive the recollection of what has long, to common understandings, been deservedly forgotten, (even though the neglected weed seems to hanker after its lost fame, and to linger around the dwellings of man,) did not the British public of the nineteenth century appear to be impelled (by a somewhat erratic "march of intellect,") towards the opposite extremes of superstition and infidelity. It may, therefore, possibly be profitable at least to one portion of the community, in such anticipation, to record the abundant efficacy of this amulet, when suspended round the neck, (as conscientiously accredited through successive ages, till recently denominated the darker); nor might it be imprudent in the simpler to anticipate a more extended demand for a commodity

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