The flowers of the Parietaria are fo finall, and fo difficult to iilveftigate, that we need not. wonder at their
being defcribed differently by different botaniftsj L innjeus’s defcription, in his Genera Plant arum, accords bed
with our obfervations, his therefore we have adopted with fome few alterations.
We find only two forts of flowers on this plant, viz. hermaphrodite and female ; of thefe, two hermaphrodite
and one female blofl'om are generally placed together in one common involucrum, the female bloflom intermediate.
To obtain a perfedt idea of the manner in which the frUaification is carried on, we mud examine thefe flowers
at a very early period of their expanfion, we (hall then find in each involucrum three red ftigmata, the two outer-
moff of which belong' to hermaphrodite flowers, whofe (lamina are not yet vifible ; the middle one, which is
larged and mod confpicuous, to the female. If wd take a view of the fame bloffoms juft at the time that the
eladic filaments by their fudden expanfion flatter'the fertilizing dud of the antheræ, the dylcs and ftigmata of
the hermaphrodite flowers, vifible before, will often be found wanting, aud the germen left naked in the center of
the flower ; at this period of the bloffoming, the fegments of the calyx in the fame flowers are nearly of the fame
length as the filaments, the dyle and ftigma of the female bloffom remain perfeft, with its germen clolely fur-
rounded by a green, hairy calyx, which never expands : the bloffoming period being now over, a cpnfiderable
alteration takes place in the calyx of the hermaphrodite flowers, each is confiderably elongated, becomes more
tubular, affumes a redder colour, has its tips prefl'ed down, and foon drops out of the involucrum, in which it
leaves no appearance of a feed ; hence I was ready to conclude that thefe flowers, the lmperfeafon of wliofe
piftilla at a certain age had before been noticed, were certainly barren, but on opening them, I found ■ file
bottom of each a feed perfeftly fimilar to that produced by, and inclofed in the calyx of the female flower, which
does not enlarge as the other does, but partaking more of the nature of a caplule, on preffure, divides at top into
four parts, and contains a blackilh (hilling feed.
It may feem a little extraordinary, that the imperfeft hermaphrodite flowers of this plant fhôuld produce per-
fea feed ; but we (hould conflder that they are perfea at firft, and that there always is a number of Antheræ belonging
to flowers farther advanced burfting near them, from whofe pollen they may probably be impregnated,
S co pol i deferibes male flowers on this plant, having a fertile, (hilling, oblong, and pointed Neflary j furely
he muftconfider the imperfeft germen in the hermaphrodite flowers as a Neftarhim, otherwife he fees farther
than any of his contemporaries.
The curious manner in which thefe flowers fhed their Pollen, or fertilizing duft, is known to mod botatiifts,
but may be new to fome of our readers; each filament has a. peculiarity of ftrufture which render* it highly
eladic there are four of them in number, on their firft appearance they all bend inward ; as foon as the pollen is
arrived at a proper (late to be difeharged, the warmth of the fun, or the lead touch from the point of a pm, will
make them inflantly fly back with a degree of force, and difeharge a little cloud of duft. This procefs ® bed
feen ill a morning, when the fun (hines hot on the plant, in July and'Augqft ; if the plant be large, numbers
will be feen exploding at the fame inftant.
The Parietaria, which takes its name from its place of growth, is frequently found on walls, and among rob-
bilh efpecially on the walls adjoining the Thames; both above and below Weftmiilfter-bridge, it as not a name
of Sweden, or the more northern countries ; this autumn the fame degree of cold (viz. abopt 31 of Fahrenheit)
thermometer) which dripped the mulberry of mod of its leaves, deftroyed the greateft part of its herbage.
Mr. Ph ilip M il ler (vile Dia. el. 6. 4.10.) afferts that the Parietana which grows wild in England is the
Pellitory with a Bafil'leaf. Parietana Ocyrni folio Bauh . Pin. Parietana jalaica L in . and that the officinalis Lix.
which he fays grows naturally in Germany and Holland, was not in England till the year 1727, when he firft
introduced it ; in this opinion Mr. M il l e r Hands alone, and there is the greateft reafon to fuppofe that he is
deceived and the more fo, as the remainder of his account, in which he-fays that “ the feeds are difficult to co -
<> left, as they are thrown out of their covers as foon as they are ripe with an elafticity,” (hows extreme mat-
tention.
As a medicinal plant more virtues appear to have been attributed to the Panetaria than it deferves ; it h&beep
ranked as an emollient, to which, in the opinion of F loyer and C ullen, it has no pretentious,- as a diuretic it
was an ingredient in the nephritic decoftiou of the late Edinburgh Difpenfatory, which is omitted in the prelent;
in this iaft intention the exprefled juice has been given in the dofe of three ounces.
Mr. Sole Apothecary of Bath, well known to the Botanic World, for hi? estenfive colleflion of indigenous
plants informs me that he has obferved remarkably good effects from the juice of this herb in dropfical cafes, itt
which other diuretics had failed; he converts the juice into a thin fyrup, and gives two table-fpoonfuls or more
thrice a day.
Monf T ournefort, fpeakin'g of the Parietaria, fays, “ Le firop de Pariétaire foulage fortrieshydrèpiques.”
■ mi le, PI le Paris A urelius V ictor informs us, that C o nstant ine bellowed on the Emperor T ea jab
the name of Parietaria, becaufe his flames' and his inferiptions, like that herb, were found on all the walls ot
Rome. Le Meme.
It is recommended to be laid on the corn in granaries, for the purpofe of driving away that deftruaive infeft *
Weevil. Bradley’s Farm. Direfi. f . 122.
g | 5g § S p