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The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 4 (of 6) cover

The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 4 (of 6)

Chapter 217: CHAP. 61. (16.)—CUNILA BUBULA: FIVE REMEDIES.
By the Elder Pliny
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History - AncientScience - Earth/Agricultural/Farming

About This Book

The text compiles practical and encyclopedic guidance on crop cultivation and plant uses, beginning with cereals and farm management — types of grain, sowing and harvesting schedules, ploughing, seed selection, storage, and maladies — plus weather and stellar prognostics for agricultural timing. It proceeds to flax and garden plants, detailing varieties, planting and processing methods, garden layout, and pest and disease remedies. The final section assembles medicinal preparations and numerous remedies derived from vegetables and herbs, listing applications and recipes for treating ailments using garden-grown plants.

CHAP. 61. (16.)—CUNILA BUBULA: FIVE REMEDIES.

In addition to garden cunila,1596 there are numerous other varieties of it employed in medicine. That known to us as “cunila bubula,” has a very similar seed to that of pennyroyal. This seed, chewed and applied topically, is good for wounds: the plaster, however, must not be taken off till the fifth day. For the stings of serpents, this plant is taken in wine, and the leaves of it are bruised and applied to the wound; which is also rubbed with them as a friction. The tortoise,1597 when about to engage in combat with the serpent, employs this plant as a preservative against the effects of its sting; some persons, for this reason, have given it the name of “panacea.”1598 It has the effect also of dispersing tumours and maladies of the male organs, the leaves being dried for the purpose, or else beaten up fresh and applied to the part affected. For every purpose for which it is employed it combines remarkably well with wine.