212 entries · An introduction to Galenic pharmacy
A
PlantAconiteWolfsbane, monkshood; Greek akoniton
Aconitum napellus and its relatives, of the buttercup family.CautionA
PlantAdder’s-tongue fernGreen Oil of Charity (the ointment made from it)
Ophioglossum vulgatum. A small, unfern-like fern of old pastures, its single spike rising from a single blade said to resemble a serpent’s tongue.A
PlantAgrimonyEupatorium of the ancients
Agrimonia eupatoria.A
PlantAlkanetAnchusa; Greek anchousa, “paint”
Alkanna tinctoria (syn. Anchusa tinctoria). A Mediterranean relative of borage, grown for the red dye in its root.a
PlantThe amulet herbsBetony, goat’s rue, savin, sage, horehound, cyclamen, laurel, masterwort, and angelica
See each above.CanaleA
Plant AniseedAnisi
Pimpinella anisum.CanaleA
PlantArthriticaArtetico; iva artetica
Ajuga iva, named for its use against gout (note XLIX).CanaleA
PlantAsarabaccaAsaro
Asarum europaeum, wild ginger of European woods.CanaleCautionA
PlantAsterAster attico
Aster amellus.CanaleB
Plant BalmMelissa
Lemon balm, Melissa officinalis.CanaleB
PlantBasilOcimo
Ocimum basilicum.CanaleB
PlantBen-nutBalano mirepsica
Probably the seed of the horseradish tree, Moringa oleifera (or M. peregrina).CanaleB
Plant BetonyBetonica
Wood betony, Betonica officinalis.CanaleB
PlantBistortBistorta
Bistorta officinalis, snakeweed.CanaleB
Plant Bitter aloesAloe, Socotrine aloes
The dried juice of Aloe vera, A. ferox, and A. perryi of Socotra.CautionB
Plant Black helleboreElleboro nero
The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger; the bark of the root was used.CanaleCautionB
Plant Black pepperPiper; Sanskrit pippali
The dried fruit of Piper nigrum.B
PlantBlack walnutJuglans nigra of Linnaeus; Wallia nigra of Alefeld; the Ojibwe and Potawatomi knew the butternut, Juglans cinerea, their baganak, and not this tree
Juglans nigra, the great walnut of the rich bottom-lands and fertile hillsides of the Mississippi basin: a tree often a hundred feet high and sometimes a hundred and fifty, with a straight trunk clear of branches for fifty or sixty feet, leaves of fifteen to twenty-three leaflets, and a globose green husked fruit an inch and a half to two inches across, holding a deeply ridged nut with a sweet kernel. It ranges from western Massachusetts to southern Ontario, through southern Michigan and Minnesota to Nebraska and Kansas, and south to Florida and Texas.CautionB
PlantBlackthornSloe
Prunus spinosa. A thorny hedgerow shrub bearing small, bitter, blue-black plums, sloes, after the first frost.B
PlantBladderwrackSea wrack; Quercus marina
Fucus vesiculosus, a brown seaweed of rocky shores, buoyed by paired air bladders.B
PlantBloodrootRed puccoon, puccoon, tetterwort, redroot, pauson, turmeric, Indian paint; Sanguinaria canadensis of Linnaeus; the Ojibwe meskwadjibikûk and the Potawatomi mackwadjibikûkûk, red root
Sanguinaria canadensis, the first flower of the spring woods from Canada to the South: a single creamy-white flower of eight petals on a naked scape three to six inches high, wrapped as it rises in its one lobed leaf, from a short horizontal root that bleeds a bright orange-red juice wherever it is cut. It grows in rich open woods and on bottom-lands along shaded streams, flowering from March to May and fruiting in June.DeadlyB
PlantBogbeanBuckbean, marsh trefoil; Menyanthes
Menyanthes trifoliata, a plant of bogs and pond edges, with three-part leaves and fringed white flowers.B
Plant BorageBoragine
Borago officinalis.CanaleCautionB
PlantBroomGinestra
Spanish broom, Spartium junceum, or common broom, Cytisus scoparius.CanaleB
PlantBryonyBrionia
White bryony, Bryonia dioica (now Bryonia cretica subsp. dioica), whose large root was sold as a false mandrake.CanaleCautionB
PlantBurdockCommon burdock, Arctium minus; great burdock, Arctium lappa of Linnaeus, Lappa officinalis, Lappa major, Bardana major; bat weed; clotbur, wrongly; the Ojibwe gi’masan, big stickers; the Potawatomi asûkitä’boe, stickers
The coarse biennial emigrant of roadsides and dwellings, three to five feet high, with great heart-shaped leaves cottony beneath and purple flower-heads in burrs of hooked scales, a deep root black outside and white within: native to Europe and Asia and spread westward across America by every coat and fleece its burrs could catch. It flowers from June to October.B
PlantButterburPetasites; pestilence wort, German Pestwurz
Petasites hybridus, of the daisy family, with huge rhubarb-like leaves in damp places.CautionC
PlantCaper spurgeLatiri; cataputia minore
Euphorbia lathyris.CanaleCautionC
Plant CardamomGreek kardamomon; grains of paradise (of some writers)
Elettaria cardamomum, of the ginger family, whose seeds come in pale three-sided pods from India.C
PlantCassia, flower ofFior di cassia
The sweet black pulp of the pods of Cassia fistula, the Indian laburnum; not the bark spice called cassia.CanaleC
PlantCastor-oil plant, seeds ofRicino; kerua; grano regale
Ricinus communis; Canale gives mirasole as its local name.CanaleCautionC
PlantCatmintNepita
Nepeta cataria or calamint, Clinopodium nepeta.CanaleC
PlantCattailCat-tail, reed mace; Typha latifolia of Linnaeus; German Rohrkolben; the Ojibwe abûkweskwe, wigwam cover, and bebamasûn, it flies around; the Potawatomi aba’kweûck, shelter weed, and biwie’skwinuk, fruit for baby’s bed
Typha latifolia, the broad-leaved cattail of pond margins, ditches, and marshes across the northern world: leaves half an inch to three-quarters wide that overtop a flowering stalk of one to two metres, the male spike set directly above the female, which ripens into the brown thumb-thick velvet club of the name and bursts in the end into down. It flowers in July and August.C
PlantCentauryCentaurea
Common centaury, Centaurium erythraea.CanaleC
PlantChamomileCamomilla
Matricaria chamomilla.CanaleC
PlantChaste treeAgnus castus, vitex; monk’s pepper
Vitex agnus-castus, a Mediterranean shrub with spikes of lilac flowers and peppery fruit.C
Plant ChicoryRadicchio
Cichorium intybus.CanaleC
PlantChokecherryChoke cherry; Prunus virginiana of Linnaeus; Prunus obovata of Bigelow and Cerasus virginiana of De Candolle; Prunus demissa in the West; Padus virginiana in some modern papers
Prunus virginiana, the chokecherry of North America: a tall shrub or small tree of forest margins, fence-rows, and highways, with racemes of white flowers and a fruit that ripens from bright red to almost black and furs the mouth until it is fully ripe.CautionC
PlantCinchonaJesuits’ bark, Peruvian bark
The bark of Cinchona trees of the Andes.C
Plant CinnamonCinnamomo; canella
The bark of Cinnamomum verum; “fine” cinnamon in the oil.CanaleC
PlantCinquefoilPentafillo
Potentilla reptans.CanaleC
PlantCitronCedro
Citrus medica, the large thick-rinded ancestor of the lemon.CanaleC
PlantClary, gardenSclarea hortense
Clary sage, Salvia sclarea.CanaleC
PlantCloveCloves, the dried flower-buds; Syzygium aromaticum; Eugenia caryophyllata of Thunberg; Caryophyllus aromaticus of Linnaeus; German Gewürznelke and Nägelein, the little spice-nail; Italian garofoli; Chinese ting-hsiang
The unopened flower-buds of a pyramidal evergreen tree of the myrtle family, up to twelve metres high, native to the Moluccas and the southern Philippines and now grown chiefly on Zanzibar and Pemba: picked when the calyx reddens, dried to the shape of a small blunt nail, and oily enough to give up their oil under a thumbnail.CautionC
PlantColocynthBitter apple; coloquintida
The dried pulp of Citrullus colocynthis.CautionC
PlantColtsfootTussilagine
Tussilago farfara.CanaleC
PlantComfreySymphytum, “grow together”; knitbone
Symphytum officinale.CautionC
PlantCorianderCoriandrum
Coriandrum sativum, seed and leaf.C
PlantCowslipKey of heaven, fairy cups, key flower, herb Peter, paigle; Herba paralysis
Primula veris. An early-spring meadow flower related to the primrose, its yellow blooms nodding in a one-sided cluster.C
PlantCubebTailed pepper; piper caudatum
Piper cubeba, a Javanese pepper whose berries keep a little stalk, like a tail.C
Plant CuminCuminum; Greek kyminon
Cuminum cyminum.C
PlantCyclamen, greaterCiclamino; pan porcino
Sowbread, Cyclamen purpurascens or C. hederifolium, eaten by pigs, hence the name.CanaleCautionC
PlantCypressCupressus
Cupressus sempervirens: cones, leaves, and wood.D
PlantDandelionTaraxacum; French dent de lion, pissenlit
Taraxacum officinale, of the daisy family.D
PlantDeadly nightshadeBelladonna; Italian belladonna, “beautiful lady”
Atropa belladonna, of the nightshade family.CautionD
PlantDevil’s-bit scabiousMorsus diaboli, “the Devil’s bite”
Succisa pratensis. A blue-violet wildflower of damp meadows, known by its short, blunt-ended root.D
PlantDillAneto
Anethum graveolens.CanaleD
PlantDittanyDittamo
Dittany of Crete, Origanum dictamnus, famous in antiquity for drawing out arrows.CanaleE
PlantElderSambucus
Sambucus nigra: flowers, berries, bark, and leaves.CautionE
Plant ElecampaneInula, helenium
The root of Inula helenium.E
Plant EndiveEndivia
Cichorium endivia, the salad plant.CanaleE
PlantEpithymumEpitimo
Dodder growing on thyme, Cuscuta epithymum, a parasitic plant.CanaleE
PlantEryngoSea holly; Eryngium
Eryngium maritimum, a spiny blue-grey thistle-like plant of sand dunes, with long sweet roots.E
PlantEyebrightEuphrasia, “gladness”
Euphrasia officinalis and relatives.F
PlantFennelFinocchio
Foeniculum vulgare, seed and water.CanaleF
PlantFern seedThe “seed” of ferns
The spores of ferns, mistaken for seed.F
PlantFeverfewParthenium
Tanacetum parthenium.F
PlantFigFicus
Ficus carica.F
PlantFoxgloveDigitalis, “finger-stall”
Digitalis purpurea.DeadlyG
Plant GalangalGalanga; Hildegard’s galgan
The rhizome of lesser galangal, Alpinia officinarum.G
Plant GarlicAllium; Greek skorodon
Allium sativum.G
PlantGhost pipeIndian pipe, Indian ghost pipe, corpse plant, ice plant, bird’s nest, fit-root, convulsion-root, pipe plant, ova-ova; Monotropa uniflora of Linnaeus, “one turn,” from the single nodding flower
Monotropa uniflora, a leafless, waxy, ivory-white herb of deep shady woods, two to eight inches high, with scales for leaves and one nodding flower that stands upright in fruit: a plant without green that lives through the fungi on the roots of trees, cool and clammy to the touch, melting in the hand like ice, and turning jet-black when it dries. It grows from Maine to Carolina and west to Missouri, and from Florida to Mississippi northward, flowering in July in the North.G
Plant GingerZingiber
The rhizome of Zingiber officinale.G
PlantGinsengAmerican ginseng, Panax quinquefolius of Linnaeus, Aralia quinquefolia; Asiatic, Chinese, or Korean ginseng, Panax ginseng; Five Fingers, Tartar Root, Red Berry, Man’s Health; Chinese jen-shen, “like a man”; Iroquois garantoquen; Ninsin of the old pharmacies
Panax quinquefolius, the ginseng of the North American woods, and its Asian kin Panax ginseng: a slow-growing herb of rich shade with three leaves of five toothed leaflets, a head of small greenish flowers, bright scarlet berries, and a fleshy, forked, man-shaped root that China has bought for its weight in silver.G
PlantGoat’s rueRuta capraria; galega
Galega officinalis, French lilac.CanaleCautionG
PlantGoji berryWolfberry; the Chinese kou-chi in Stuart’s spelling, its fruit yang-ju, its root bark ti-ku-p’i, its leaves t’ien-ts’ai; Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense; German Teufelszwirn and Bocksdorn, the devil’s thread and the buck’s thorn
The scarlet berry of Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, thin-leaved shrubs of the nightshade family with long, rod-like, hanging branches and small violet flowers from June to autumn: a common shrub of the northern and western provinces of China, and in Europe a Mediterranean plant much planted and long since run wild.G
PlantGorseFurze
Ulex europaeus. A spiny, coconut-scented, yellow-flowered shrub of heath and common land.G
PlantGreater celandineChelidonia maggiore
Chelidonium majus.CanaleCautionG
PlantGround cherryWinter cherry, strawberry tomato, Cape gooseberry, goldenberry, Poha; yellow henbane; Alkekengi of the old shops; Judenkirsche and Schlutte in German; Physalis alkekengi, Physalis viscosa, Physalis peruviana
Physalis, the ground cherries: nightshades whose five-cleft calyx swells after the flower falls into a papery bladder, the Greek phusa, that encloses a round berry, red in the European winter cherry and yellow or orange in the American ground cherry.G
PlantGround ivyAlehoof; gill
Glechoma hederacea. A low, creeping weed of the mint family with small purple flowers, common in shaded grass.G
PlantGround pineCamepitio
Ajuga chamaepitys, yellow bugle, distinct from arthritica (note XLIX).CanaleH
PlantHawthornMay, the May tree
Crataegus monogyna. The May tree, a thorned hedgerow tree whose white blossom marks the start of May in Britain and Ireland.H
PlantHazelCorylus
Corylus avellana.H
PlantHeartseaseViola tricolor; love-in-idleness, pansy
Viola tricolor, the wild pansy of fields and banks, purple, white, and yellow.H
Plant HemlockCicuta; Greek kōneion
Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, of the carrot family.CautionH
PlantHempCannabis
Cannabis sativa.H
Plant HenbaneHyoscyamus; Greek hyoskyamos, “hog’s bean”
Hyoscyamus niger, of the nightshade family.CautionH
PlantHerb bennetWood avens; herba benedicta, the blessed herb
Geum urbanum, of the rose family, with a root that smells of cloves.H
PlantHerb ParisHerba Paris
Paris quadrifolia, true-lover’s knot, a woodland plant with a single black berry.CanaleCautionH
PlantHopLupoli
Humulus lupulus.CanaleH
PlantHorehoundMarrubio
White horehound, Marrubium vulgare.CanaleH
PlantHoundstongueCynoglossum, “dog’s tongue”
Cynoglossum officinale. A coarse, grey-leaved biennial of waste ground, named for its long, tongue-shaped, softly hairy leaves.CautionH
Plant HouseleekSempervivum; Jupiter’s beard
Sempervivum tectorum.H
Plant HyssopGreek hyssopos; Hebrew ezov
Hyssopus officinalis; the hyssop of Scripture was probably a wild marjoram, Origanum syriacum.I
PlantIpecacuanhaIpecac
The root of Carapichea ipecacuanha of Brazil.CautionI
PlantIvaIua
Ajuga iva; see Arthritica.CanaleJ
PlantJalapJalapa; the root of Xalapa
Ipomoea purga, a Mexican morning glory whose tuber was shipped from the town of Xalapa.CautionJ
PlantJewelweedSpotted touch-me-not, wild celandine, slippers, quick-in-the-hand, weathercocks; Impatiens biflora of Walter, Impatiens capensis of Meerburgh, Impatiens fulva; the Ojibwe wesa’wûs ga’skonêk, yellow light; the Potawatomi wasawa’shiak, yellow slippery
Impatiens capensis, the orange-flowered touch-me-not of wet shady ground across the eastern and midwestern United States and Canada, a succulent annual whose spurred flowers hang like slippers and whose ripe pods burst at a touch: the plant the tribes rubbed on nettle stings and poison ivy, and the one plant of the Midwestern folk pharmacy that has been put to a controlled test.J
PlantJuneberryServiceberry, shadbush, Saskatoon; Amelanchier canadensis of Medicus, Mespilus canadensis of Linnaeus, Pyrus Botryapium, Aronia Botryapium; Amelanchier laevis, Amelanchier alnifolia; the Ojibwe gozîgagô’mînûn, thorny berry; the Potawatomi bosîkwa’komînûn
The shadbushes of the rich upland woods, small trees or tall shrubs that open their white strap-petalled flowers in loose racemes as the leaves unfold, from the end of March in the South to the end of May in the North, and ripen in early summer a sweet edible fruit, red at first and dark purple with a bloom when ripe. Amelanchier canadensis ranges from Newfoundland to Florida and west to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas, growing with the oaks, hickories, sugar maples, and birches.J
Plant JuniperJuniperus; French genièvre
The berries and wood of Juniperus communis.L
PlantLady’s mantleAlchemilla; pes leonis, lion’s foot
Alchemilla vulgaris and its kin, of the rose family, with pleated, scalloped leaves that hold a bead of dew at the centre.L
PlantLaurelLauro
Bay laurel, Laurus nobilis: oil, leaves, and berries.CanaleL
Plant LavenderLavandula; Greek stoichas
Lavandula angustifolia and French lavender, L. stoechas.L
PlantLesser bean-trefoilAnagiride minore
Stinking bean trefoil, Anagyris foetida, a Mediterranean shrub. “Female bean trefoil” in the oil of ch. 9 is the same plant.CanaleCautionL
PlantLicoriceGlycyrrhiza, “sweet root”; the Scythian root
The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra.L
PlantLiverwort, or hepaticaLiverleaf; Hepatica, from Greek hēpar, “liver”
Hepatica nobilis (syn. Anemone hepatica). An early-spring woodland flower with three-lobed, liver-shaped evergreen leaves.L
Plant Long pepperPiper longum; Sanskrit pippali
The catkin-like fruit of Piper longum.L
PlantLovageLevisticum
Levisticum officinale, of the carrot family.L
PlantLungwortPulmonaria
Pulmonaria officinalis. A woodland perennial with white-spotted leaves and flowers that open pink and turn blue.M
PlantMadderRubia
Rubia tinctorum. A scrambling perennial grown since antiquity for the red dye in its root.M
PlantMadonna lilyLilium; Greek krinon
Lilium candidum.M
PlantMallow and marshmallowMalva; altea
Malva sylvestris and Althaea officinalis.CanaleM
Plant MandrakeMandragora; Greek mandragoras; Hebrew dudaim
Mandragora officinarum and its relatives, of the nightshade family.CautionM
PlantMannaCalabrian manna
The dried sap of the manna ash, Fraxinus ornus, of Calabria and Sicily.M
PlantMarigoldCalendula
Calendula officinalis, the pot marigold.M
PlantMarjoram and jasmineMaggiorana; gelsomini
Sweet marjoram, Origanum majorana; jasmine, Jasminum officinale.CanaleM
PlantMasterwort and angelicaImperatoria; angelica
Peucedanum ostruthium and Angelica archangelica.CanaleM
PlantMayappleMay-apple, American mandrake, Indian apple, hog apple, wild lemon, duck’s foot, wild jalap, raccoon-berry; Podophyllum peltatum of Linnaeus, Anapodophyllum canadense of Catesby; the source of podophyllin and podophyllotoxin
Podophyllum peltatum, a herb of low shady ground and damp open woods that spreads by its creeping root into beds: a single stem a foot high, forking into two umbrella-like peltate leaves with one nodding white flower in the fork, followed by a large yellow egg-shaped fruit. It flowers in May and fruits in August, from New England to Georgia and throughout the interior.DeadlyM
PlantMeadow saffronColchicum; hermodactyl
Colchicum autumnale.DeadlyM
PlantMeadowsweetMeadwort, queen of the meadow; Spiraea ulmaria
Filipendula ulmaria, of the rose family, of damp meadows and ditches, with frothy cream flowers smelling of almond.M
PlantMelon rootRadice di pepone
Root of the melon plant, Cucumis melo.CanaleM
PlantMilkweedCommon milkweed, silkweed, wild cotton, Virginian swallow-wort; Asclepias syriaca of Linnaeus, a wholly American plant misnamed for Syria, Asclepias cornuti of Decaisne; the Ojibwe cabo’sîkûn, milk, and înîni’wûnj, Indian plant; the Potawatomi anêniwîc, man weed
Asclepias syriaca, the stout milkweed of roadsides, fields, and waste places everywhere in Canada and the United States: four or five feet high, leafy to the top, with oval leaves downy beneath, drooping umbels of dusky rose flowers in summer, a white juice that congeals where the stem is cut, and warty pods that split to loose seeds on silk. The food plant of the monarch butterfly across its whole eastern range.CautionM
PlantMint, oil ofOglio di menta
Oil of garden or spear mint.CanaleM
PlantMistletoeViscum; all-heal
Viscum album, especially when found on oak.CautionM
PlantMolyGreek mōly
Unidentified. The snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, is the most discussed candidate.M
PlantMoonwortLunaria
The small fern Botrychium lunaria.M
PlantMotherwortCardiaca; lion’s tail
Leonurus cardiaca, of the mint family, a tall, prickly-calyxed herb of waste ground.M
PlantMugwortArtemisia
Artemisia vulgaris.CanaleM
PlantMulleinVerbascum; hag’s taper
Verbascum thapsus.M
PlantMustard seedSeme di napo, 1660
The English follows the 1674 text as “mustard”; the 1660 printing, whose Italian is given in the heading, reads sem. napi, the seed of rape (Brassica napus), a close relative.CanaleM
PlantMyrobalansMyrobalani
The dried fruits of Terminalia chebula, T. bellirica, and Phyllanthus emblica.N
PlantNasturtium, that is, garden cressNasturtio
Garden cress, Lepidium sativum. Not the flowering nasturtium (Tropaeolum) of modern gardens, a genus native to the Andes.CanaleN
PlantNettle seedSeme d’urtica
Seed of the stinging nettle, Urtica dioica.CanaleN
PlantNutmeg and cloveNoce moscata; garofoli
Myristica fragrans and Syzygium aromaticum.CanaleO
PlantOak gallsOak apples; gallae
Round growths raised on oaks by gall wasps.O
Plant OnionCepa
Allium cepa.O
Plant Opium poppyPapaver; Greek mēkōn; the juice, opion
Papaver somniferum; opium is the dried latex of its unripe seed heads.CautionO
PlantOracheAtriplice
Atriplex hortensis, garden orache, a spinach-like plant.CanaleO
PlantOregano and squinanthOrigano; squinanto
Oregano, Origanum vulgare; squinanth, Cymbopogon schoenanthus, a relative of lemongrass.CanaleO
PlantOrrisIris; the Florentine iris
The dried root of Iris germanica ‘Florentina’ and I. pallida.O
PlantOx eyeBuftalmo
Probably Buphthalmum salicifolium, yellow ox-eye; some read it as the ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare.CanaleP
PlantPalm of ChristPalma Christi
The castor-oil plant, Ricinus communis (note XLII). The oil “of castor” in the anointings is this oil, not the animal substance castoreum.CanaleCautionP
Plant ParsleyGreek selinon, petroselinon
Petroselinum crispum.CautionP
PlantPawpawPapaw, American custard-apple; asiminier of the French colonists; Asimina triloba of Dunal, Annona triloba of Linnaeus, Uvaria triloba, Porcelia triloba; not the papaya, Carica papaya, which has borrowed the name
Asimina triloba, the one temperate tree of the custard-apple family: ten to thirty feet high, with long thin leaves, dull purple flowers that open with or before the leaves, and oblong pulpy fruits like short bananas, native to the central belt of the United States from western New York to the Mississippi and southward, along streams where the soil is rich and the frosts come late.CautionP
PlantPennyroyalPulegio
Mentha pulegium.CanaleCautionP
PlantPeonyPeonia
Paeonia officinalis and the “male” peony, the kind formerly grown for its medicinal root.CanaleP
PlantPeriwinkleVinca, pervinca; sorcerer’s violet
Vinca minor, the lesser periwinkle, a trailing evergreen with blue flowers.P
PlantPilewortLesser celandine; Ficaria
Ficaria verna (Ranunculus ficaria), of the buttercup family, whose glossy yellow stars open in early spring above knobbed roots.CautionP
PlantPlantainPiantagine
Plantago major.CanaleP
PlantPokeweedPoke, poke root, garget, pigeon-berry, scoke; pocan of the Virginian tribes; Phytolacca decandra of the older books
Phytolacca americana, the American pokeweed: a tall perennial of hedges and roadsides, purple-stemmed, with clusters of black berries full of crimson juice.CautionP
PlantPomegranateMalum punicum, granatum
Punica granatum: fruit, rind, flowers, and root bark.P
Plant PurslanePortulaca; Greek andrachne
Portulaca oleracea, a succulent, creeping herb of warm gardens.Q
Plant QuinceCydonia, “the apple of Cydon”
Cydonia oblonga.R
PlantRadishRafano
Garden radish, Raphanus sativus (now classed by Kew as Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus): root, juice, and seed.CanaleR
PlantRagwortCushag (Manx); Stinking Willie
Jacobaea vulgaris (syn. Senecio jacobaea). A tall, weedy, yellow-flowered daisy of pastures and waste ground.CautionR
PlantRampsWild leek; Allium tricoccum of Aiton; the Ojibwe bûgwadjijîcagowûnj, the unusual skunk-plant, Winabojo’s onion; the Potawatomi bûgwadjica’gowûnj
Allium tricoccum, the wild leek of the hardwood forests of the Great Lakes and the East: a spring ephemeral that puts up its broad leaves in late winter and early spring from a bulb, feeds through its roots and their fungi even in the leafless months, and is gathered for the bulb and the leaf together. The larger of the two wild onions of Ojibwe country; the smaller, the nodding wild onion Allium cernuum, is the sweeter.R
PlantRed rosesRose rosse
Dried petals of Rosa gallica.CanaleR
PlantRhubarbRabarbaro
The root of Chinese rhubarb, Rheum officinale and R. palmatum, long brought to Europe overland through the Levant; not the garden rhubarb stalk.CanaleR
PlantRocketRucola
Eruca vesicaria, salad rocket.CanaleR
Plant RoseRosa
Chiefly the red or apothecary’s rose, Rosa gallica, and the damask rose, Rosa × damascena, as syrup, honey, sugar, water, and powder.CanaleR
Plant RosemaryRos marinus, “dew of the sea”
Salvia rosmarinus (formerly Rosmarinus officinalis).R
PlantRound birthwortAristolochia rotonda
Aristolochia rotunda.CanaleCautionR
PlantRowanMountain ash, witchen
Sorbus aucuparia.R
Plant RueRuta
Ruta graveolens, garden rue.CanaleCautionS
Plant SaffronZafferano
The stigmas of Crocus sativus.CanaleS
PlantSageSalvia
Salvia officinalis.CanaleS
PlantSarsaparillaZarzaparrilla, “little bramble vine”
The roots of Smilax species, thorny climbers of Central and South America.S
PlantSassafrasSassafras; the ague tree
The root bark of Sassafras albidum.CautionS
PlantSavinSabina
Juniperus sabina, a low juniper.CanaleCautionS
PlantSelf-healPrunella, brunella; heal-all
Prunella vulgaris.S
PlantSennaSena
The leaves and pods of Senna alexandrina.CanaleS
PlantShepherd’s purseBursa pastoris; pickpocket, mother’s heart
Capsella bursa-pastoris, of the cabbage family, a weed of every garden, its seed-pods shaped like little heart-shaped purses.S
PlantSilphiumLatin laserpicium; its juice, laser
An extinct plant of Cyrene in Libya, probably a giant fennel (Ferula).S
PlantSnapdragonAntirrino
Antirrhinum majus.CanaleS
PlantSolomon’s seal
Polygonatum multiflorum and its relatives. A shade-loving woodland perennial with arching stems of paired leaves and small white bell flowers.S
PlantSouthernwoodAbrotano
Artemisia abrotanum, “lad’s love.”CanaleS
PlantSpeedwellBird’s eye; Veronica
Veronica chamaedrys and its relatives. A low, spreading plant with small, bright blue, four-petaled flowers, common in grass and hedgerows.S
PlantSpikenardSpico nardo
The root of Nardostachys jatamansi, a Himalayan valerian.CanaleS
PlantSquillScilla
Sea squill, Drimia maritima and its close relatives, large bulbs of the Mediterranean coasts.CanaleS
Plant St. John’s wortHiperico; perforata
Hypericum perforatum.CanaleCautionS
PlantSumacSmooth sumac, Rhus glabra of Linnaeus; staghorn or velvet sumac, Rhus typhina, Rhus hirta; shumake; Rafinesque’s shimiac; the Ojibwe bakwanak, binding tree; the dried berries sacacomi of the Canada trade; not the poison sumac, Rhus vernix
The red-fruited sumacs of the roadsides and rocky barrens, shrubs of five to fifteen feet with long pinnate leaves on crimson stalks and dense upright cones of small fruits clothed in acid crimson hairs: the smooth sumac common throughout North America, and the staghorn, velvet-twigged, of the north-east and the Lake country. The poisonous sumacs, Grieve says, are told from these by their loose axillary panicles and smooth fruit.S
PlantSweet flagCalamo aromatico
Acorus calamus.CanaleCautionS
PlantSweet woodruffAsperula odorata; German Waldmeister
Galium odoratum, a small woodland herb with whorled leaves that smell of new hay only once they are dried.T
PlantTamarindArabic tamr hindī, “Indian date”
The pod pulp of Tamarindus indica.T
PlantTansyTanacetum
Tanacetum vulgare.CautionT
PlantTeaselFuller’s teasel; Venus’s basin
Dipsacus fullonum. A tall, prickly biennial whose paired leaves clasp the stem to form a natural cup that fills with rainwater.T
PlantThorn appleStramonium; Jimsonweed
Datura stramonium, of the nightshade family.DeadlyT
Plant ThymeThymum; Greek thymon
Thymus vulgaris and wild thyme, T. serpyllum.T
PlantToadflaxButter and eggs; bunny mouths, lion’s mouth, impudent lawyer, devil’s flax, wild snapdragon
Linaria vulgaris. “Butter and eggs,” a wild relative of the snapdragon with two-toned yellow, spurred flowers.T
PlantTobaccoNicotiana; herba sancta, herba panacea
Nicotiana tabacum.CautionT
PlantTormentilTormentilla; septfoil, bloodroot
Potentilla erecta, of the rose family, a small yellow four-petalled flower of heaths, with a woody root red within.T
PlantTurmericCurcuma; terra merita, Indian saffron
Curcuma longa, of the ginger family, whose root is deep yellow within.V
PlantValerianPhu (Dioscorides); Latin valeriana
Valeriana officinalis; the root is used.V
PlantVerbenaVerbena
Vervain, Verbena officinalis.CanaleV
Plant Violet, lettuce, sow-thistleViola; lattuca; sonco
Sweet violet (Viola odorata), garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa), sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus).CanaleW
PlantWalnut, middle bark ofScorza mezzana della noce
The inner bark of Juglans regia.CanaleW
PlantWater germanderScordeo
Teucrium scordium, of the same genus as wall germander, which has caused liver failure in modern herbal preparations.CanaleCautionW
PlantWhite helleboreElleboro bianco
Veratrum album, false hellebore, of the family Melanthiaceae, unrelated to black hellebore (Ranunculaceae).CanaleCautionW
Plant White willowSalix
The bark and leaves of Salix alba.W
PlantWild bergamotMonarda fistulosa of Linnaeus; horsemint; the Ojibwe weca’wûs wackwî’nek, yellow light; kin of the Oswego tea, Monarda didyma, and of the horsemint Monarda punctata that gave the oil of the old shops
Monarda fistulosa, the lilac-flowered bergamot of the prairies, meadows, and dry open woods of the Midwest, a square-stemmed mint whose whole plant smells of thyme and oregano: its oils are the same carvacrol and thymol.W
PlantWild carrot, seed ofDauco
Seed of Daucus carota, Queen Anne’s lace.CanaleW
PlantWild garlicRamsons; herba salutaris
Allium ursinum. A broad-leaved, strongly garlic-scented woodland plant that carpets damp ground with white starry flowers each spring.W
PlantWild gingerCanada snakeroot, heart snakeroot, Indian ginger, coltsfoot, broadleaf asarabacca; Asarum canadense of Linnaeus, Asarum latifolium of Salisbury; the Ojibwe namepîn, sturgeon potato; the Potawatomi ba’boan
Asarum canadense, the humblest plant of the rich shady woods from Canada to Carolina and Missouri: two kidney-shaped hairy leaves on long stalks and, hidden in their fork at the ground, one brownish-purple three-cleft flower in May and June, over a creeping fleshy root that smells and tastes of ginger. Its European kin the asarabacca is an emetic; this is not.CautionW
PlantWild rueRuta silvestre
Either the wild form of Ruta graveolens or Syrian rue, Peganum harmala.CanaleCautionW
PlantWoadIsatis
Isatis tinctoria. A biennial of the mustard family whose fermented leaves yielded Europe’s principal blue dye before indigo.W
PlantWood sorrelOxalis; Irish seamsóg
Oxalis acetosella. A delicate woodland plant with clover-like, sour-tasting leaves of three leaflets and white, veined flowers.W
PlantWoody nightshadeBittersweet; Dulcamara
Solanum dulcamara, a climbing nightshade of hedges, with purple and yellow flowers and scarlet berries.CautionW
Plant Wormwood, oil ofOglio d’assenzo
Artemisia absinthium.CanaleY
Plant YarrowAchillea; millefolium, “thousand-leaf”
Achillea millefolium.Y
PlantYellow dockCurled dock; dock
Rumex crispus. A tall, coarse weed of waste ground with wavy-edged leaves and a tall spike of rust-brown seeds.Y
PlantYewTaxus
Taxus baccata.DeadlyZ
PlantZedoaryZedoaria; setwall, cetewale
Curcuma zedoaria, of the ginger family, a bitter, camphor-scented root from India.Historical description, not medical advice.
