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

Chapter 339: CHAP. 15. (5.)—APARINE, OMPHALOCARPOS, OR PHILANTHROPOS: THREE 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. 15. (5.)—APARINE, OMPHALOCARPOS, OR PHILANTHROPOS: THREE REMEDIES.

Aparine,1765 otherwise called “omphalocarpos”1766 or “philanthropos,”1767 is a ramose, hairy, plant, with five or six leaves at regular intervals, arranged circularly around the branches. The seed is round, hard, concave, and of a sweetish taste. It grows in cornfields, gardens, and meadows, and, by the aid of its prickly points, adheres to the clothes. The seed is employed to neutralize the venom of serpents, being taken in doses of one drachma, in wine: it is useful also for the bite of the phalangium.1768 The leaves, applied topically, arrest hæmorrhage from wounds. The juice is used as an injection for the ears.