CHAP. 34.—THE ACANTHUS, PÆDEROS, OR MELAMPHYLLOS: FIVE REMEDIES.
The acanthus[2638] is a plant that grows in cities, and is used in ornamental gardening. It has a broad, long leaf, and is used as a covering for the margins of ornamental waters and of parterres in gardens.[2639] There are two varieties of it; the one that is thorny[2640] and crisped is the shorter of the two; the other, which is smooth,[2641] is by some persons called “pæderos,”[2642] and by others “melamphyllos.”[2643] The root of this last is remarkably good for burns and sprains; and, boiled with the food, a ptisan more particularly, it is equally good for ruptures, spasms, and patients who are in apprehension of phthisis. The root is also beaten up and applied warm for hot gout.