Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of CureFernie, William Thomas
History
Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure
Fernie, William Thomas
Botany, Medical
honey are my tresses smoothed." It is also called the Passover
Flower, because blossoming at Easter; and it belongs to the
Ranunculaceous order of plants. The flower of the Wood Anemone
tells the approach of night, or of a shower, by curling over
its petals like a tent; and it has been said that fairies nestle
within, having first pulled the curtains round them. Among the old
Romans, to gather the first Anemone of the year was deemed a
preservative against fever. The Pasque flower, also named
Bluemoney and Easter, or Dane's flower, is of a violet blue,
growing in chalky pastures, and less common than the Wood
Anemone, but each possesses equally curative virtues.
The seed of the Anemone being very light and downy, is blown
away by the first breeze of wind. A ready-witted French senator
took advantage of this fact while visiting Bacheliere, a covetous
florist, near Paris, who had long held a secret monopoly of certain
richly-coloured and splendidly handsome anemones from the East.
Vexed to see one man hoard up for himself what ought to be more
widely distributed, he walked and talked with the florist in his
garden when the anemone [23] plants were in seed. Whilst thus
occupied, he let fall his robe, as if by accident, upon the flowers,
and so swept off a number of the little feathery seed vessels which
clung to his dependent garment, and which he afterwards cultivated
at home. The petals of the Pasque flower yield a rich green
colour, which is used For staining Easter eggs, this festival
having been termed Pask time in old works, from "paske," a
crossing over. The plant is said to grow best with iron in the soil.
ANGELICA (also called MASTER-WORT).
The wild Angelica grows commonly throughout England in wet
places as an umbelliferous plant, with a tall hollow stem, out of
which boys like to make pipes. It is purple, furrowed, and downy,
bearing white flowers tinged with pink. But the herb is not useful
as a simple until cultivated in our gardens, the larger variety being
chosen for this purpose, and bearing the name _Archangelica_.
"Angelica, the happy counterbane,
Sent down from heaven by some celestial scout,
As well its name and nature both avow't."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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