Millefolium. Yarrow. Meanly cold and binding, an healing herb for wounds, stanches bleeding; and some say the juice snuffed up the nose, causeth it to bleed, whence it was called, Nose-bleed; it stops lasks, and the menses, helps the running of the reins, helps inflammations and excoriations of the priapus, as also inflammations of wounds. Galen.
Muscus. Mosse. Is something cold and binding, yet usually retains a smatch of the property of the tree it grows on; therefore that which grows upon oaks is very dry and binding. Serapio saith that it being infused in wine, and the wine drank, it stays vomiting and fluxes, as also the Fluor Albus.
Myrtus. Myrtle-tree. The leaves are of a cold earthly quality, drying and binding, good for fluxes, spitting and vomiting of blood; stop the Fluor Albus and menses.
Nardus. See the root.
Nasturtium, Aquaticum, Hortense. Water cresses, and Garden-cresses. Garden-cresses are hot and dry in the fourth degree, good for the scurvy, sciatica, hard swellings, yet do they trouble the belly, ease pains of the spleen, provoke lust. Dioscorides. Water-cresses are hot and dry, cleanse the blood, help the scurvy, provoke urine and the menses, break the stone, help the green-sickness, cause a fresh lively colour.
Nasturtium Alhum, Thlaspie. Treacle-mustard. Hot and dry in the third degree, purges violently, dangerous for pregnant women. Outwardly it is applied with profit to the gout.
Nicorimi. Tobacco. It is hot and dry in the second degree, and of a cleansing nature: the leaves warmed and applied to the head, are excellently good in inveterate head-aches and megrims, if the diseases come through cold or wind, change them often till the diseases be gone, help such whose necks be stiff: it eases the faults of the breast: Asthma’s or head-flegm in the lappets of the lungs: eases the pains of the stomach and windiness thereof: being heated by the fire, and applied hot to the side, they loosen the belly, and kill worms being applied unto it in like manner: they break the stone being applied in like manner to the region of the bladder: help the rickets, being applied to the belly and sides: applied to the navel, they give present ease to the fits of the mother: they take away cold aches in the joints applied to them: boiled, the liquor absolutely and speedily cures scabs and itch: neither is there any better salve in the world for wounds than may be made of it: for it cleanses, fetches out the filth though it lie in the bones, brings up the flesh from the bottom, and all this it doth speedily: it cures wounds made with poisoned weapons, and for this Clusius brings many experiences too tedious here to relate. It is an admirable thing for carbuncles and plague-sores, inferior to none: green wounds ’twill cure in a trice: ulcers and gangreens very speedily, not only in men, but also in beasts, therefore the Indians dedicated it to their god. Taken in a pipe, it hath almost as many virtues; it easeth weariness, takes away the sense of hunger and thirst, provokes to stool: he saith, the Indians will travel four days without either meat or drink, by only chewing a little of this in their mouths: It eases the body of superfluous humours, opens stoppings. See the ointment of Tobacco.
Nummularia. Money-wort, or Herb Two-pence; cold, dry, binding, helps fluxes, stops the menses, helps ulcers in the lungs; outwardly it is a special herb for wounds.
Nymphea. See the flowers.
Ocynum. Basil, hot and moist. The best use that I know of it, is, it gives speedy deliverance to women in travail. Let them not take above half a dram of it at a time in powder, and be sure also the birth be ripe, else it causes abortion.