 |
SOLDIER (Common Water) STRRATIOTES ALOIDES, Is specific against the king's-evil and scrofulous swellings. An aquatic plant with a white fibrous root, long narrow leaves with small prickles along the edges, and large white flowers with a pretty tuft of yellow in the centre. Where to find it: Ponds and ditches. The plant is normally submerged, but floats at the surface at flowering time. Flowering time: Midsummer. Astrology: A cold watery plant under the Moon in the celestial sign of Pisces. Medicinal virtues: Used externally, it is cooling and repellant. It provokes the urine and is useful in hysteric disorders. A specific for scrofula. Modern uses. A rare plant and therefore not much used in herbal medicine. However, where available, an ointment can be made by digesting the plant in wax and straining; it is good for wounds and inflammations. |