We shall now have to annex some plants, of a marvellous nature no doubt, but not so well known, reserving those of a higher reputation for the succeeding Books. Our people give the name of “centunculus,”[351] to a creeping plant that grows in the fields, the leaves of which bear a strong resemblance to the hoods attached to our cloaks. By the Greeks it is known as the “clematis.” Taken in astringent wine it is wonderfully effectual for arresting[352] diarrhœa: beaten up, in doses of one denarius, in five cyathi of oxymel or of warm water, it arrests hæmorrhage, and facilitates the after-birth. CHAP. 89.—THE CLEMATIS ECHITES, OR LAGINE. The Greeks have other varieties also of the clematis, one of which is known as “echites”[353] or “lagine,” and by some as the “little scammony.” Its stems are about two feet in height, and covered with leaves: in general appearance it is not unlike scammony, were it not that the leaves are darker and more diminutive; it is found growing in vineyards and cultivated soils. It is eaten as a vegetable, with oil and salt, and acts as a laxative upon the bowels. It is taken[354] also for dysentery, with linseed, in astringent wine. The leaves of this plant are applied with polenta for defluxions of the eyes, the part affected being first covered with a pledget of wet linen. Applied to scrofulous sores, they cause them to suppurate, and if some axle-grease is then applied, a perfect cure will be effected. They are applied also to piles, with green oil, and are good for phthisis, in combination with honey. Taken with the food, they increase the milk in nursing women, and, rubbed upon the heads of infants, they promote the rapid growth of the hair. Eaten with vinegar, they act as an aphrodisiac. CHAP. 90.—THE EGYPTIAN CLEMATIS, DAPHNOÏDES, OR POLYGONOÏDES: TWO REMEDIES. There is another kind also, known as the “Egyptian”[355] clematis, otherwise as “daphnoïdes”[356] or “polygonoïdes:” it has a leaf like that of the laurel, and is long and slender. Taken in vinegar, it is very useful for the stings of serpents, that of the asp in particular. CHAP. 91. (16.)—DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON THE DRACONTIUM.