CHAP. 8. (7.)—THE ERYNGE OR ERYNGIUM.
In the first rank of the plants armed with prickles, the erynge2494 or eryngion stands pre-eminent, a vegetable production held in high esteem as an antidote formed for the poison of serpents and all venomous substances. For stings and bites of this nature, the root is taken in wine in doses of one drachma, or if, as generally is the case, the wound is attended with fever, in water. It is employed also, in the form of a liniment, for wounds, and is found to be particularly efficacious for those inflicted by water-snakes or frogs. The physician Heraclides states it as his opinion that, boiled in goose-broth, it is a more valuable remedy than any other known, for aconite2495 and other poisons.2496 Apollodorus recommends that, in cases of poisoning, it should be boiled with a frog, and other authorities, in water only. It is a hardy plant, having much the appearance of a shrub, with prickly leaves and a jointed stem; it grows a cubit or more in height. Sometimes it is found of a whitish colour, and sometimes black,2497 the root of it being odoriferous. It is cultivated in gardens, but it is frequently to be found growing2498 spontaneously in rugged and craggy localities. It grows, too, on the sea-shore, in which case it is tougher and darker than usual, the leaf resembling that of parsley.2499