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MASTERWORT PEUCEDANUM (= IMPERATORIA) OSTRUTHIUM The root ... stands high as a remedy of great efficacy in malignant and pestilential fevers. Common Masterwort grows to about three feet (91 cm) high and bears umbels of white flowers. The dark green leaves are winged and resemble those of Angelica. Where to find it: Originally from Australia and alpine regions, it is now cultivated in gardens. Flowering time: Late summer. Astrology: It is a herb of Mars. Medicinal virtues: The root is hot and available for colds and diseases of the head, stomach and body, dissolving very powerfully upwards and downwards. It is most efficacious if given in a light infusion. It is also used in a decoction with wine against all cold rheums, distillation upon the lungs, or shortness of breath. It provokes urine and helps to break the stone and expel gravel from the kidneys. It also provokes women's courses and expels the dead-birth. It is singularly good for feminine disorders. Also use it for the dropsy, cramps and falling-sickness. The decoction in wine used as a gargle draws down phlegm from the brain. If the taste he too offensive, use the water distilled from the herb and root. Modern uses: A decoction of the root - 1 oz (23 g) to 1 Pt (568 ml) of boiling water - is taken in doses of 2 fl oz (56 ml) for asthma, flatulence and delayed menstruation. This remedy should not he taken in pregnancy. |