Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXV. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF WILD PLANT, CHAP. 109.—THE BATRACHION, RANUNCULUS, OR STRUMUS ; FOUR VARIETIES OF IT: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

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CHAP. 109.—THE BATRACHION, RANUNCULUS, OR STRUMUS ; FOUR VARIETIES OF IT: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

The plant known to the Greeks as "batrachion,"¹ we call ranunculus.² There are four varieties of it,³ one of which has leaves somewhat thicker than those of coriander, nearly the size of those of the mallow, and of a livid hue: the stem of the plant is long and slender, and the root white; it grows on moist and well-shaded embankments. The second⁴ kind is more foliated than the preceding one, the leaves have more numerous incisions, and the stems of the plant are long. The third⁵ variety is smaller than the others, has a powerful smell, and a flower of a golden colour. The fourth⁶ kind is very like the one last mentioned, but the flower is milk-white.

All these plants have caustic properties: if the leaves are applied unboiled, they raise blisters like those caused by the action of fire; hence it is that they are used for the removal of leprous spots, itch-scabs, and brand marks upon the skin. They form an ingredient also in all caustic preparations, and are applied for the cure of alopecy, care being taken to remove them very speedily. The root, if chewed for some time, in cases of tooth-ache, will cause⁷ the teeth to break; dried and pulverized, it acts as a sternutatory.

Our herbalists give this plant the name of "strumus," from the circumstance of its being curative of strumous⁸ sores and inflamed tumours, for which purpose a portion of it is hung up in the smoke. It is a general belief, too, with them, that if it is replanted, the malady so cured will reappear⁹—a criminal practice, for which the plantago is also employed. The juice of this last-mentioned plant is curative of internal ulcerations of the mouth; and the leaves and root are chewed for a similar purpose, even when the mouth is suffering from defluxions. Cinquefoil effects the cure of ulcerations and offensive breath; psyllium¹⁰ is used also for ulcers of the mouth.

1 "Frog-plant."

2 "Little frog." Called "Crow-foot" by us.

3 Sprengel identifies it with the Ranunculus Seguieri, Fée with the R. Asiaticus, also a native of Greece.

4 Identified by Desfontaines with the Ranunculus hirsutus, or philonotis. Fée, with Hardouin, considers it to be the same as the Apiastrum of }1. xx. c. 45, and identifies it with the Ranunculus Sardoüs of Crantz, the plant probably which produces a contraction of the mouth, rendered famous as the "Sardonic grin," and more commonly known as the Ranunculus sceleratus, Apium risus, or Apium Sardoüm, "Laughing parsley," or "Sardinian parsley."

5 Identified by Sprengel and Desfontaines with the Ranunculus repens or Creeping crow-foot; but by Fée, with the Ranunculus muricatus of Linnæus.

6 Identified by Desfontaines with the Ranunculus aconitifolius; by Fée with the Ranunculus aquatilis of Linnæus, the Water crowfoot. The Ranunculi are all active poisons.

7 A fabulous assertion, probably, and it is very doubtful if any one ever made the trial of its efficacy.

8 Or scrofula.

9 See 1B. xxi c. 83, and B. xxvi. c. 5.

10 See e. 90 of this Book.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 109.—THE BATRACHION, RANUNCULUS, OR STRUMUS ; FOUR VARIETIES OF IT: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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Table of Contents:

CHAP. 109.—THE BATRACHION, RANUNCULUS, OR STRUMUS ; FOUR VARIETIES OF IT: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.