Latin Texts & Translations

Lapathum, too, has pretty nearly the same properties. There is a wild ^[Note] variety, known to some as "oxalis," very similar in taste to the cultivated kind, with pointed leaves, a colour like that of white beet, and an extremely diminutive root: our people call it "rumex," ^[Note] while others, again, give it the name of "lapathum cantherinum." ^[Note]Mixed with axle-grease, this plant is very efficacious for scrofulous sores. There is another kind, again, hardly forming a distinct variety, known as "oxylapathon," ^[Note] which resembles the cultivated kind even more than the last, though the leaves are more pointed and redder: it grows only in marshy spots. Some authors are found who speak of a "hydrolapathon," ^[Note] which grows in the water, they say. There is also another variety, known as "hippolapathon," ^[Note] larger than the cultivated kind, whiter, and more compact.

The wild varieties of the lapathum are a cure ^[Note] for the stings of scorpions, and protect those who carry the plant on their person from being stung. A decoction of the root in vinegar, employed as a gargle, is beneficial to the ^[Note] teeth, and if drunk, is a cure for jaundice. The seed is curative of the most obstinate maladies of the stomach. ^[Note] The root of hippolapathum, in particular, has the property of bringing off malformed nails; and the seed, taken in wine, in doses of two drachmæ, is a cure for dysentery. The seed of oxylapathum,

washed in rain-water, with the addition of a piece of gum acacia, about the size of a lentil, is good for patients troubled with spitting of blood. ^[Note] Most excellent lozenges are made of the leaves and root of this plant, with the addition of nitre and a little incense. When wanted for use, they are first steeped in vinegar.