The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 5 (of 6)

Chapter 153: CHAP. 32.—THE CENTAURIS TRIORCHIS: TWO REMEDIES.

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This volume catalogs remedies derived from forest trees and wild plants, presenting systematic entries for dozens of species with prescribed treatments and applications. It enumerates specific uses for resins, barks, leaves, berries, and sap, and gives instructions on preparation, dosage, and testing of potency. The text also records variations among species, regional observations on growth and harvesting, and anecdotes on how certain plants were discovered or associated with animals and human practices. Overall it functions as a practical herbal compendium combining botanical description with medicinal recipes and empirical notes.

CHAP. 32.—THE CENTAURIS TRIORCHIS: TWO REMEDIES.

There is a third kind of centaury also, known as the “centauris triorchis.”646 It is but rarely that a person cuts it without wounding himself. The juice emitted is just the colour of blood.647 Theophrastus relates that this plant is under the protection of the triorchis, a kind of hawk, which attacks those who gather it; a circumstance to which it owes its name. Ignorant 648 persons are in the habit of confounding all these characteristics, and attributing them to the centaury first named.