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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.
The first kind of capnos,892 known also as “chicken’s foot,”893 is found growing on walls and hedges: it has very thin, straggling branches, with a purple blossom. It is used in a green state, and the juice of it disperses films upon the eyes; hence it is that it is employed as an ingredient in medicinal compositions for the eyes.