 |
HART'S TONGUE PHYLLITIS (= ASPLENIUM) SCOLOPENDRIUM A good remedy for the liver, both to strengthen it when weak, and ease it when afflicted. A perennial fern, the leaves are about a foot (30 cm) long when fully grown. Where to find it: Shady spots, among rocks, near walls and shady copses. Flowering time: It flowers not, being a fern, but remains green all winter. Astrology: Jupiter claims dominion over this herb. Medicinal virtues: A syrup should be made of it, so that it is always available. It is commanded for hardness and stoppings of the liver and spleen, heat from the stomach, lax and the bloody flux. The distilled water is very good against the passions of the heart, to stay the hiccough, to help the falling of the palate, and to stay the bleeding of the gums, by gargling with it. Modern uses: A soothing diuretic with laxative and pectoral properties. A decoction is made from 2 oz (56 g) of the herb to 1 pt (568 ml) of boiling water and taken in doses of 2 fl oz (56 ml). It is a liver tonic and will also remove sediment from the bladder. Its mucilaginous content is useful in treating bronchial disease. Herbalists use it in combination with other remedies not available in Culpeper's day. |