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

Chapter 192: CHAP. 73.—PHLOMOS OR VERBASCUM: FIFTEEN 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. 73.—PHLOMOS OR VERBASCUM: FIFTEEN REMEDIES.

Verbascum has the name of “phlomos” with the Greeks. Of this plant there are two principal kinds; the white,792 which is considered to be the male, and the black,793 thought to be the female. There is a third 794 kind, also, which is only found in the woods. The leaves of these plants are larger than those of the cabbage, and have a hairy surface: the stem is upright, and more than a cubit in height, and the seed black, and never used. The root is single, and about the thickness of the finger. The two principal kinds are found growing in champaign localities. The wild verbascum has leaves like those of elelisphacus,795 but of an elongated form; the branches are ligneous.