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

Chapter 74: CHAP. 72.—THE AGRIFOLIA. THE AQUIFOLIA: ONE REMEDY. THE YEW: ONE PROPERTY BELONGING TO IT.

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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. 72.—THE AGRIFOLIA. THE AQUIFOLIA: ONE REMEDY. THE YEW: ONE PROPERTY BELONGING TO IT.

The agrifolia,281 pounded, with the addition of salt, is good for diseases of the joints, and the berries are used in cases of excessive menstruation, cœliac affections, dysentery, and cholera; taken in wine, they act astringently upon the bowels. A decoction of the root, applied externally, extracts foreign bodies from the flesh, and is remarkably useful for sprains and tumours.

The tree called “aquifolia,” planted 282 in a town or country-house is a preservative against sorceries and spells. The blossom of it, according to Pythagoras, congeals 283 water, and a staff 284 made of the wood, if, when thrown at any animal, from want of strength in the party throwing it, it falls short of the mark will roll back again 285 towards the thrower, of its own accord—so remarkable are the properties of this tree. The smoke of the yew kills 286 rats and mice.