COMMENTARY. It is not well determined whether it be a species of _Crithmum_, _Herniaria_, or _Salsola_. Dioscorides makes it to be a purger of phlegm, bile, and water; and all the other authorities, both Greek and Arabian, give it the same characters in the main. It does not appear that the Arabians have noticed it; neither do we find it in the works of Hippocrates or Celsus. In the modern Greek Pharmacopœia it is set down as being the _Pimpinella Saxifraga_. Ἐπίθυμον, Epithymum (vel Cuscuta minor?) _Dodder of Thyme_, is desiccant and calefacient in the third degree, being more drastic than thyme. * * * * * COMMENTARY. Dioscorides says of the _Cuscuta Epithymus_, or lesser dodder of thyme, that it purges phlegm and black bile, and agrees particularly with melancholic and flatulent cases. (iv, 176.) Aëtius, likewise, calls it a melanogogue medicine. Galen and Oribasius give exactly the same character of it as our author. Serapion gives a most graphic description of this singular parasitic plant, in the present instance quoting solely from Arabian authorities. They agree in general that it is deobstruent, cathartic, and emmenagogue, and join in recommending it particularly in jaundice, obstructions of the liver and spleen, and in the fevers of children. (De Simpl. 39.) Mesue, also, gives nearly the same characters of it; he mentions of it that it is a weak and slow purge, unless taken in a large dose, and, therefore, he recommends it to be given with Indian myrobalans, black hellebore, mulse, salts, or the like. (16.) See also Avicenna (ii, 2, 226) and Rhases (Cont. 270.) It held a place in our Dispensatory, with the character of being a cleanser, down to a late period. See Rutty (Materia Medica, p. 80.); Quincy (Complete Engl. Dispens. p. 117.) Ἐπιμήδιον, Epimedium, _Barren Wort_; its powers are moderately refrigerant, with a watery humidity. When applied in the form of a cataplasm it preserves the breasts in a right state. It is also said to prevent conception when taken in a draught. * * * * * COMMENTARY. Our author borrows his description of the Epimedium Alpinum, or Barren Wort, from Dioscorides; and none of the others supply any additional information respecting it. Ἐπιμηλὶς, Epimelis, _Crab-tree_, called also Unedo by the Italian husbandmen. It is a sort of wild apple, the fruit of which, being sour, is bad for the stomach, and occasions headache. * * * * * COMMENTARY. It appears, from Dioscorides (i, 170), that it is a species of Medlar. Probably, then, it was the _Mespilus Germanica_. Dioscorides, Galen, and all the other authorities that treat of it give it the same character as our author. As a medicine, it has the same characters as the other Medlars. Ἐπιπακτὶς, Epipactis (called also Helleborine, or _Bastard Hellebore_), is drunk as an antidote for deadly poisons, and for diseases of the liver.