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SOW-THISTLE(Tree) SONCHUS ARVENSIS The milky juice is useful in deafness. A perennial growing to three feet (90 cm) high with a tender, hollow stalk, yellowish-green leaves and large orange flowers. The leaves and stalk run with milk when crushed. Also called the Perennial Sow-thistle. Where to find it: Cornfields, marshes, beside streams. Flowering time: Late summer. Astrology: It is under Venus. Medicinal virtues: Its virtues lie chiefly in its milky juice, which is useful in deafness, either from accidental stoppage, gout or old age. Four spoonfuls of the juice of the leaves, two of salad oil and one of salt are shaken together and some cotton dipped into it and put into the ears. By doing this you may expect a good degree of recovery. Modern uses: Little used, but like Common Sow-thistle the leaves may be used in poultices for application to inflammatory swellings, such as boils and other skin eruptions, and also as an application to haemorrhoids. |