M. Grieve

Aem>A Modern Herbal (1931) sets each plant’s description, constituents, and medicinal action beside its history and lore. Read here in the text kept at botanical.com, whose editors warn that it was written with the conventional wisdom of the early 1900s.

40 Entries in the Materia Medica

1. A
   AloeHere the aloe of John 19:39, with which, mixed with myrrh, Nicodemus anointed Christ’s bod
2. A
   Apples, syrup ofA syrup of sweet apples.
3. B
   BladderwrackFucus vesiculosus, a brown seaweed of rocky shores, buoyed by paired air bladders.
4. B
   BloodrootSanguinaria canadensis, the first flower of the spring woods from Canada to the South: a s
5. B
   BorageBorago officinalis.
6. B
   BurdockThe coarse biennial emigrant of roadsides and dwellings, three to five feet high, with gre
7. C
   Caraway brothA broth of caraway seed, Carum carvi.
8. C
   CardamomElettaria cardamomum, of the ginger family, whose seeds come in pale three-sided pods from
9. C
   Castor-oil plant, seeds ofRicinus communis; Canale gives mirasole as its local name.
10. C
    CinquefoilPotentilla reptans.
11. C
    CloveThe unopened flower-buds of a pyramidal evergreen tree of the myrtle family, up to twelve
12. C
    CuminCuminum cyminum.
13. D
    Dragon’s bloodThe red resin of Dracaena cinnabari of Socotra, which came in tears (drops), or of the rat
14. E
    ElecampaneThe root of Inula helenium.
15. E
    EyebrightEuphrasia officinalis and relatives.
16. F
    FennelFoeniculum vulgare, seed and water.
17. G
    GalbanumGum resin of Ferula gummosa.
18. G
    GinsengPanax quinquefolius, the ginseng of the North American woods, and its Asian kin Panax gins
19. G
    Ground cherryPhysalis, the ground cherries: nightshades whose five-cleft calyx swells after the flower
20. G
    Ground pineAjuga chamaepitys, yellow bugle, distinct from arthritica (note XLIX).
21. H
    HopHumulus lupulus.
22. H
    Hungary waterFresh rosemary tops in flower, steeped in spirit of wine and distilled.
23. L
    LovageLevisticum officinale, of the carrot family.
24. M
    Mallow and marshmallowMalva sylvestris and Althaea officinalis.
25. M
    Masterwort and angelicaPeucedanum ostruthium and Angelica archangelica.
26. M
    MayapplePodophyllum peltatum, a herb of low shady ground and damp open woods that spreads by its c
27. M
    Mint, oil ofOil of garden or spear mint.
28. M
    Mustard seedThe English follows the 1674 text as “mustard”; the 1660 printing, whose Italian is given
29. O
    Olive oil and holy waterFine olive oil; water blessed by the Church.
30. O
    Oxymel, and oxymel of squillHoney boiled with vinegar; the squill version adds the bulb of sea squill.
31. P
    PawpawAsimina triloba, the one temperate tree of the custard-apple family: ten to thirty feet hi
32. P
    PokeweedPhytolacca americana, the American pokeweed: a tall perennial of hedges and roadsides, pur
33. R
    RadishGarden radish, Raphanus sativus (now classed by Kew as Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativu
34. R
    Rosemary rice waterA rinse for the hair and the skin made in the kitchen: the cloudy water from rinsing rice,
35. R
    Round birthwortAristolochia rotunda.
36. S
    SnapdragonAntirrhinum majus.
37. S
    SumacThe red-fruited sumacs of the roadsides and rocky barrens, shrubs of five to fifteen feet
38. S
    Sweet almond, oil ofOil pressed from sweet almonds.
39. V
    Vinegar of the four thievesVinegar steeped with herbs and garlic: in Gattefossé’s recipe, as Garcia gives it, angelic
40. V
    Violet, lettuce, sow-thistleSweet violet (Viola odorata), garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa), sow-thistle (Sonchus olerac

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