previous next

CHAP. 17.—THE ASPLENON OR HEMIONION: TWO REMEDIES.

Some persons call the asplenon1 by the name of "hemio- nion."2 It has numerous leaves, a third of a foot in length, and a slimy root, pierced with holes like that of fern, white, and hairy, It is destitute of stem, flower, and3 and is found growing upon rocks or sheltered damp walls. The most approved kind is that of Crete. A decoction of the leaves in vinegar, taken in drink for a period of thirty days, will consume the spleen, it is said, the leaves being applied simultaneously. The leaves give relief also in hiccup. This plant should never be given to females, being productive of sterility.

1 So called from its supposed property of consuming the spleen. It is generally identified with the Asplenium ceterach of Linnæus, Spleenwort, or miltwaste. The Asplenium hemionitis of Linnæus, Mule's fern, and the Asplenium scolopendrium of Linnæus, Hart's tongue, have also been suggested; but Fée prefers the first-named plant.

2 The "mule's plant." These animals were said to be very fond of it.

3 This is incorrect: the Ceterach has a large quantity of seed, but it is concealed beneath a kind of downy substance.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

load focus Latin (Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, 1906)
hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

hide References (3 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (3):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: