Lapathum, too, has pretty nearly the same properties. There is a wild1705 variety, known to some as “oxalis,” very similar in taste to the cultivated kind, with pointed leaves, a colour like that of white beet, and an extremely diminutive root: our people call it “rumex,”1706 while others, again, give it the name of “lapathum cantherinum.”1707 Mixed with axle-grease, this plant is very efficacious for scrofulous sores. There is another kind, again, hardly forming a distinct variety, known as “oxylapathon,”1708 which resembles the cultivated kind even more than the last, though the leaves are more pointed and redder: it grows only in marshy spots. Some authors are found who speak of a “hydrolapathon,”1709 which grows in the water, they say. There is also another variety, known as “hippolapathon,”1710 larger than the cultivated kind, whiter, and more compact.

The wild varieties of the lapathum are a cure1711 for the stings of scorpions, and protect those who carry the plant on their person from being stung. A decoction of the root in vinegar, employed as a gargle, is beneficial to the1712 teeth, and if drunk, is a cure for jaundice. The seed is curative of the most obstinate maladies of the stomach.1713 The root of hippolapathum, in particular, has the property of bringing off malformed nails; and the seed, taken in wine, in doses of two drachmæ, is a cure for dysentery. The seed of oxylapathum, washed in rain-water, with the addition of a piece of gum acacia, about the size of a lentil, is good for patients troubled with spitting of blood.1714 Most excellent lozenges are made of the leaves and root of this plant, with the addition of nitre and a little incense. When wanted for use, they are first steeped in vinegar.