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HOUSELEEK (Wall Pepper) SEDUM ACRE It is good for the scurvy.A perennial with stalks four or five inches (10 Or 13 cm) long, Completely covered with thick, fat, triangular, blunt leaves and bearing yellow star-shaped flowers. Also called Biting Stonecrop. Where to find it: It grows on old walls and the roofs of low houses, on rocks and sandy soil. Flowering time: Late spring, early summer. Astrology: A herb of Jupiter. Medicinal virtues: It has a very hot biting taste and many know it as Pepperwort. Its qualities are directly opposite to the Small Houseleek (Sedum rupestre) and other Sedums and more apt to raise inflarnmations than to cure them; it ought not to be put into the Unquent Populeon nor into any other medicine for inflammation.It is good for scurvy taken inwardly as a decoction and used outwardly as a fomentation. It is also commanded for the king's-evil. Modern uses: A decoction of the herb is used in the treatment of high blood pressure, but small doses only can be used as the plant is emetic and purgative. It contains an irritating substance which can cause blisters if applied to the skin. It is also contra-indicated in pregancy as it may cause abortion. A tincture of the fresh plant given in small doses is prescribed by homoeopaths for anal fistulas and haemorrhoids. It is not recommended for domestic use. |