Government and virtues.] Venus lays claim to this herb as her own, and it is under the sign Aries, and our city dames know well enough the ointment or distilled water of it adds beauty, or at least restores it when it is lost. The flowers are held to be more effectual than the leaves, and the roots of little use. An ointment being made with them, takes away spots and wrinkles of the skin, sun-burning, and freckles, and adds beauty exceedingly; they remedy all infirmities of the head coming of heat and wind, as vertigo, ephialtes, false apparitions, phrensies, falling-sickness, palsies, convulsions, cramps, pains in the nerves; the roots ease pains in the back and bladder, and open the passages of urine. The leaves are good in wounds, and the flowers take away trembling. If the flowers be not well dried, and kept in a warm place, they will soon putrefy and look green: Have a special eye over them; If you let them see the Sun once a month, it will do neither the Sun nor them harm.
Because they strengthen the brain and nerves, and remedy palsies, Greeks gave them the name Paralysis. The flowers preserved or conserved, and the quantity of a nutmeg eaten every morning, is a sufficient dose for inward diseases; but for wounds, spots, wrinkles, and sunburnings, an ointment is made of the leaves, and hog’s grease.
CRAB’S CLAWS.
Called also Water Sengreen, Knight’s Pond Water, Water House-leek, Pond Weed, and Fresh-water Soldier.
Descript.] It has sundry long narrow leaves, with sharp prickles on the edges of them, also very sharp pointed; the stalks which bear flowers, seldom grow so high as the leaves, bearing a forked head, like a Crab’s Claw, out of which comes a white flower, consisting of three leaves, with divers yellowish hairy threads in the middle; it takes root in the mud at the bottom of the water.
Place.] It grows plentifully in the fens in Lincolnshire.
Time.] It flowers in June, and usually from thence till August.
Government and virtues.] It is a plant under the dominion of Venus, and therefore a great strengthener of the reins; it is excellently good for inflammation which is commonly called St. Anthony’s Fire; it assuages inflammations, and swellings in wounds: and an ointment made of it is excellently good to heal them; there is scarcely a better remedy growing than this is, for such as have bruised their kidneys, and upon that account discharge blood; a dram of the powder of the herb taken every morning, is a very good remedy to stop the terms.
BLACK CRESSES.
Descript.] It has long leaves, deeply cut and jagged on both sides, not much unlike wild mustard; the stalk small, very limber, though very tough: you may twist them round as you may a willow before they break. The flowers are very small and yellow, after which comes small pods, which contains the seed.