Nicholas Culpeper

A London apothecary-astrologer who put the College of Physicians’ Latin pharmacopoeia into English in 1649, to the physicians’ fury, so that anyone could read what their medicines contained. His English Physitian (1652), the herbal still in print, followed.

85 Entries in the Materia Medica

1. A
   Adder’s-tongue fernOphioglossum vulgatum. A small, unfern-like fern of old pastures, its single spike rising
2. A
   AgrimonyAgrimonia eupatoria.
3. A
   AlkanetAlkanna tinctoria (syn. Anchusa tinctoria). A Mediterranean relative of borage, grown for
4. a
   The amulet herbsSee each above.
5. A
   AniseedPimpinella anisum.
6. A
   Apples, syrup ofA syrup of sweet apples.
7. A
   Armenian stone, pills ofLapis armenus, azurite, a blue copper carbonate.
8. A
   AsarabaccaAsarum europaeum, wild ginger of European woods.
9. B
   BalmLemon balm, Melissa officinalis.
10. B
    BistortBistorta officinalis, snakeweed.
11. B
    Black helleboreThe Christmas rose, Helleborus niger; the bark of the root was used.
12. B
    BlackthornPrunus spinosa. A thorny hedgerow shrub bearing small, bitter, blue-black plums, sloes, af
13. B
    BorageBorago officinalis.
14. B
    BroomSpanish broom, Spartium junceum, or common broom, Cytisus scoparius.
15. B
    BurdockThe coarse biennial emigrant of roadsides and dwellings, three to five feet high, with gre
16. C
    CantharidesThe dried blister beetle Lytta vesicatoria.
17. C
    CatmintNepeta cataria or calamint, Clinopodium nepeta.
18. C
    CentauryCommon centaury, Centaurium erythraea.
19. C
    ChamomileMatricaria chamomilla.
20. C
    ChicoryCichorium intybus.
21. C
    Cochia pillsA standard purgative pill of aloes, scammony, and colocynth, given in the old pharmacopoei
22. C
    Compound fumitoryA syrup or compound of fumitory, Fumaria officinalis, with other herbs.
23. C
    Coral, redPrecious red coral, Corallium rubrum, of the western Mediterranean, prepared as powder.
24. C
    Cordial flowers and fruitsA standard apothecary decoction of “heart-strengthening” flowers (usually borage, bugloss,
25. C
    CowslipPrimula veris. An early-spring meadow flower related to the primrose, its yellow blooms no
26. C
    Crabs’ eyesChalky stones from the stomachs of crayfish.
27. D
    Damascus prunesDamson plums, Prunus insititia, dried.
28. D
    Devil’s-bit scabiousSuccisa pratensis. A blue-violet wildflower of damp meadows, known by its short, blunt-end
29. D
    DiacatholiconA “universal” purgative electuary of the old apothecary, based on senna, rhubarb, cassia,
30. D
    Diamoschu, sweetA cordial powder of musk with saffron, aloeswood, coral, pearls, and spices.
31. D
    DiapheniconA purgative electuary of dates, with turpeth, scammony, and spices.
32. D
    Diatrion piperionA warming powder of the three peppers, with aniseed and ginger.
33. E
    EndiveCichorium endivia, the salad plant.
34. E
    EpithymumDodder growing on thyme, Cuscuta epithymum, a parasitic plant.
35. E
    EryngoEryngium maritimum, a spiny blue-grey thistle-like plant of sand dunes, with long sweet ro
36. F
    FeverfewTanacetum parthenium.
37. F
    Foetid pillsPilulae foetidae, named for their stench, made with foul-smelling gum resins such as sagap
38. G
    Gallia moschataA named compound perfume of the apothecary, made into troches of aloeswood, ambergris, and
39. G
    Golden pillsPilulae aureae, a standard compound of aloes, scammony, and colocynth.
40. G
    Ground cherryPhysalis, the ground cherries: nightshades whose five-cleft calyx swells after the flower
41. G
    Ground ivyGlechoma hederacea. A low, creeping weed of the mint family with small purple flowers, com
42. G
    Ground pineAjuga chamaepitys, yellow bugle, distinct from arthritica (note XLIX).
43. H
    Hamech, confection ofA purgative confection containing myrobalans, senna, polypody, and colocynth, among many o
44. H
    HawthornCrataegus monogyna. The May tree, a thorned hedgerow tree whose white blossom marks the st
45. H
    Herb ParisParis quadrifolia, true-lover’s knot, a woodland plant with a single black berry.
46. H
    Hiera of PacchiusA bitter purgative compound, the “holy antidote” of Paccius Antiochus, a pupil of Philonid
47. H
    Hiera picraA compound purge of aloes with cinnamon, mastic, saffron, and other aromatics.
48. H
    Hiera with agaricHiera picra, the bitter aloes compound, with added larch agaric (Laricifomes officinalis,
49. I
    Indian and Arabian pillsTwo named compound pills of the Arabic-Latin tradition: the Indian pills (from Mesue, afte
50. J
    JuniperThe berries and wood of Juniperus communis.
51. K
    KermesThe dried bodies of female kermes scale insects, which yield a red dye used since antiquit
52. L
    Lapis lazuli, pills ofThe blue stone lapis lazuli, finely powdered, compounded in pills with scammony, black hel
53. L
    Lenitive electuaryA mild compound laxative paste of the Galenic pharmacopoeia, typically of senna, polypody,
54. M
    MadderRubia tinctorum. A scrambling perennial grown since antiquity for the red dye in its root.
55. M
    Masterwort and angelicaPeucedanum ostruthium and Angelica archangelica.
56. M
    MoonwortThe small fern Botrychium lunaria.
57. M
    MotherwortLeonurus cardiaca, of the mint family, a tall, prickly-calyxed herb of waste ground.
58. M
    MuskThe secretion of the musk deer’s gland.
59. O
    Oil of bricksOleum latericium philosophorum, “philosophers’ oil,” made by quenching red-hot brick in oi
60. O
    Oxymel, and oxymel of squillHoney boiled with vinegar; the squill version adds the bulb of sea squill.
61. P
    PeriwinkleVinca minor, the lesser periwinkle, a trailing evergreen with blue flowers.
62. R
    RagwortJacobaea vulgaris (syn. Senecio jacobaea). A tall, weedy, yellow-flowered daisy of pasture
63. R
    RaisinsDried grapes.
64. R
    Red rosesDried petals of Rosa gallica.
65. R
    RoseChiefly the red or apothecary’s rose, Rosa gallica, and the damask rose, Rosa × damascena,
66. R
    Rosemary rice waterA rinse for the hair and the skin made in the kitchen: the cloudy water from rinsing rice,
67. S
    Self-healPrunella vulgaris.
68. S
    Shepherd’s purseCapsella bursa-pastoris, of the cabbage family, a weed of every garden, its seed-pods shap
69. S
    SnailGarden snails, shelled and boiled, distilled, or eaten.
70. S
    Solomon’s sealPolygonatum multiflorum and its relatives. A shade-loving woodland perennial with arching
71. S
    Sorrel, syrup ofProbably the syrupus acetosus of the pharmacopoeias, syrup of vinegar, which the London Di
72. S
    SouthernwoodArtemisia abrotanum, “lad’s love.”
73. S
    Species Pleris ArchonticonA named compound powder of the apothecary, of aromatics such as cinnamon, cloves, aloeswoo
74. T
    TansyTanacetum vulgare.
75. T
    TheriacThe great compound antidote of antiquity, with about sixty ingredients in Galen’s formulat
76. T
    ToadflaxLinaria vulgaris. “Butter and eggs,” a wild relative of the snapdragon with two-toned yell
77. T
    TormentilPotentilla erecta, of the rose family, a small yellow four-petalled flower of heaths, with
78. T
    Troche of agaricLozenges of larch agaric, Laricifomes officinalis (syn. Fomitopsis officinalis), a bracket
79. V
    ValerianValeriana officinalis; the root is used.
80. V
    ViperThe flesh of the viper, Vipera species, dried into troches.
81. W
    Wild carrot, seed ofSeed of Daucus carota, Queen Anne’s lace.
82. W
    WoadIsatis tinctoria. A biennial of the mustard family whose fermented leaves yielded Europe’s
83. W
    Wood sorrelOxalis acetosella. A delicate woodland plant with clover-like, sour-tasting leaves of thre
84. W
    Woody nightshadeSolanum dulcamara, a climbing nightshade of hedges, with purple and yellow flowers and sca
85. Y
    Yellow dockRumex crispus. A tall, coarse weed of waste ground with wavy-edged leaves and a tall spike

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