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

Chapter 285: CHAP. 55.—THE CALLITHRIX: ONE REMEDY. THE PERPRESSA: ONE REMEDY. THE CHRYSANTHEMUM: ONE REMEDY. THE ANTHEMIS: ONE REMEDY.

By the Elder Pliny

Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - Ancient Nature/Gardening/Animals Science - Biology

About This Book

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. 55.—THE CALLITHRIX: ONE REMEDY. THE PERPRESSA: ONE REMEDY. THE CHRYSANTHEMUM: ONE REMEDY. THE ANTHEMIS: ONE REMEDY.

Callithrix,1269 beaten up with cummin seed, and administered in white wine, is useful also for diseases of the bladder. Leaves of vervain, boiled down to one third, or root of vervain, in warm honied wine, expel calculi of the bladder.

Perpressa,1270 a plant which grows in the vicinity of Arretium and in Illyricum, is boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, and the decoction taken in drink: the same too with trefoil,1271 which is administered in wine; and the same with the chrysanthemum.1272 The anthemis 1273 also is an expellent of calculi. It is a plant with five small leaves running from the root, two long stems, and a flower like a rose. The roots of it are pounded and administered alone, in the same way as raw laver.1274