Bilberry (whortleberry Or Whinberry)
This fruit, which belongs to the Cranberry order of plants, grows
abundantly throughout England in heathy [52] and mountainous
districts. The small-branched shrub bears globular, wax-like
flowers, and black berries, which are covered, when quite fresh,
with a grey bloom. In the West of England they are popularly
called whorts, and they ripen about the time of St. James' Feast,
July 25th. Other names for the fruit are B
Hurtleberry, and Huckleberry. The title Whinberry has been
acquired from its growing on Whins, or Heaths; and Bilberry
signifies dark coloured; whence likewise comes Blackwort as
distinguished in its aspect from the Cowberry and the Cranberry.
By a corruption the original word Myrtleberry has suffered change
of its initial M into W. (Whortlebery.) In the middle ages the
Myrtleberry was used in medicine and cookery, to which berry the
Whortleberry bears a strong resemblance. It is agreeable to the
taste, and may be made into tarts, but proves mawkish unless
mixed with some more acid fruit.
The Bilberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus) is an admirable astringent,
and should be included as such among the domestic medicines of
the housewife. If some good brandy be poured over two handfuls
of the fruit in a bottle, this will make an extract which continually
improves by being kept. Obstinate diarrhoea may be cured by
giving doses of a tablespoonful of this extract taken with a
wineglassful of warm water, and repeated at intervals of two hours
whilst needed, even for the more severe cases of dysenteric
diarrhoea. The berries contain chemically much tannin. Their stain
on the lips may be quickly effaced by sucking at a lemon. In
Devonshire they are eaten at table with cream. The Irish call them
frawns. If the first tender leaves are properly gathered and dried,
they can scarcely be [53] distinguished from good tea. Moor game
live on these berries in the autumn. Their juice will stain paper or
linen purple:--
Sanguineo splendore rosas vaccinia nigro,
Induit, et dulci violas ferrugine pingit.
CLAUDIAN.
They are also called in some counties, Blaeberries, Truckleberries,
and Blackhearts.
The extract of Bilberry is found to be a very useful application for
curing such skin diseases as scaly eczema, and other eczema
which is not moist or pustulous; also for burns and scalds. Some of
the extract is to be laid thickly on the cleansed skin with a camel
hairbrush, and a thin layer of cotton wool to be spread over it, the
whole being fastened with a calico or gauze bandage. This should
be changed gently once a day.
Another Vaccinium (oxycoccos), the Marsh Whortleberry, or
Cranberry, or Fenberry--from growing in fens--is found in peat
bogs, chiefly in the North. This is a low plant with straggling wiry
stems, and solitary terminal bright red flowers, of which the
segments are bent back in a singular manner. Its fruit likewise
makes excellent tarts, and forms a considerable article of
commerce at Langtown, on the borders of Cumberland. The fruit
stalks are crooked at the top, and before the blossom expands they
resemble the head and neck of a crane.
More
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Hyssop (hyssopus Vulgaris Linn)
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... Packs Up And Shuts Her Gaudy Shop
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... Pennyroyal (mentha Pulegium Linn)
... Peppermint (mentha Piperita Linn)
... Rosemary (rosmarinus Officinalis Linn)
... Sage (salvia Officinalis Linn)
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Like the members of the preceding group, the species of the Umbelliferae are principally natives of mild climates of the old world, but many of them extend farther north into the cold parts of the continent, even beyond the Arctic Circle in some cas... Savory (satureia Hortensis Linn)
... Savory Winter (satureia Montana Linn)
... Spearmint (mentha Spicata Linn Or M Viridis Linn)
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The Wood Anemone, or medicinal English Pulsatilla, with its lovely pink white petals, and drooping blossoms, is one of our best known and most beautiful spring flowers. Herbalists do not distinguish it virtually from the silky-haired Anemone Pulsati... Angelica
(Archangelica officinalis, Hoffm.) a biennial or perennial herb of the natural order Umbelliferae, so called from its supposed medicinal qualities. It is believed to be a native of Syria, from whence it has spread to many cool European climates, e... Angelica (also Called Master-wort)
The wild Angelica grows commonly throughout England in wet places as an umbelliferous plant, with a tall hollow stem, out of which boys like to make pipes. It is purple, furrowed, and downy, bearing white flowers tinged with pink. But the herb is no... Anise
(Pimpinella Anisum, Linn.), an annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. It is a native of southwestern Asia, northern Africa and south-eastern Europe, whence it has been introduced by man throughout the Mediterranean region, into Germany, and ... Aniseed
The Anise (Pimpinella), from bipenella, because of its secondary, feather-like leaflets, belongs to the umbelliferous plants, and is cultivated in our gardens; but its aromatic seeds chiefly come from Germany. The careful housewife will do well alw... Apple
The term Apple was applied by the ancients indiscriminately to almost every kind of round fleshy fruit, [27] such as the thornapple, the pineapple, and the loveapple. Paris gave to Venus a golden apple; Atalanta lost her classic race by staying to p... Arum--the Common
The lords and ladies (arum maculatum) so well known to every rustic as common throughout Spring in almost every hedge row, has acquired its name from the colour of its erect pointed spike enclosed within the curled hood of an upright arrow-shaped l... Asparagus
The Asparagus, belonging to the Lily order of plants, occurs wild on the coasts of Essex, Suffolk, and Cornwall. It is there a more prickly plant than the cultivated vegetable which we grow for the sake of the tender, [36] edible shoots. The Greeks ... Balm
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(Melissa officinalis, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae. The popular name is a contraction of balsam, the plant having formerly been considered a specific for a host of ailments. The generic name, Melissa, is the Greek for bee a... Barberry
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Hordeum Vulgare--common Barley--is chiefly used in Great Britain for brewing and distilling; but, it has dietetic and medicinal virtues which entitle it to be considered among serviceable simples. Roman gladiators who depended for their strength and... Basil
The herb Sweet Basil (Ocymum Basilicum) is so called because the smell thereof is fit for a king's house. It grows commonly in our kitchen gardens, but in England it dies down every year, and the seeds have to be sown annually. Botanically, it is na... Basil
(Ocymum basilicum, Linn.), an annual herb of the order Labiatae. The popular name, derived from the specific, signifies royal or kingly, probably because of the plant's use in feasts. In France it is known as herb royale, royal herb. The generic nam... Bean
(see Pea and Bean). ... Belladonna
(see Night Shade). ... Bennet Herb (avens)
This, the Herba Benedicta, or Blessed Herb, or Avens (Geum Urbanum) is a very common plant of the Rose tribe, in our woods, hedges, and shady places. It has an erect hairy stem, red at the base, with terminal bright yellow drooping flowers. The ord... Betony
Few, if any, herbal plants have been more praised for their supposed curative virtues than the Wood Betony (Stachys Betonica), belonging to the order of Labiates. By the common people it is often called Bitny. The name Betonica is from the Celtic b... Bilberry (whortleberry Or Whinberry)
This fruit, which belongs to the Cranberry order of plants, grows abundantly throughout England in heathy [52] and mountainous districts. The small-branched shrub bears globular, wax-like flowers, and black berries, which are covered, when quite fre... Blackberry
This is the well-known fruit of the Common Bramble (Rubus fructicosus), which grows in every English hedgerow, and which belongs to the Rose order of plants. It has long been esteemed for its bark and leaves as a [54] capital astringent, these conta... Bluebell (wild Hyacinth)
This,--the Agraphis mutans,--of the Lily tribe--is so abundant in English woods and pastures, whilst so widely known, and popular with young and old, as to need no description. Hyacinth petals are marked in general with dark spots, resembling in the... Bog Bean (or Marsh-trefoil)
The Buck-bean, or Bog-bean, which is common enough in stagnant pools, and on our spongy bogs, is the most serviceable of all known herbal tonics. It may be easily recognised growing in water by its large leaves overtopping the surface, each being c... Borage
The Borage, with its gallant blue flower, is cultivated in our gardens as a pot herb, and is associated in our minds with bees and claret cup. It grows wild in abundance on open plains where the soil is favourable, and it has a long-established repu... Borage
(Borago officinalis, Linn.), a coarse, hardy, annual herb of the natural order Boraginaceae. Its popular name, derived from the generic, is supposed by some to have come from a corruption of cor, the heart, and ago, to affect, because of its former ... Broom
The Broom, or Link (Cytisus scoparius) is a leguminous shrub which is well known as growing abundantly on open places in our rural districts. The prefix cytisus is derived from the name of a Greek island where Broom abounded. It formerly bore the na... Bryony
English hedgerows exhibit Bryony of two distinct sorts--the white and the black--which differ much, the one from the other, as to medicinal properties, and which belong to separate orders of plants. The White Bryony is botanically a cucumber, being ... Buckthorn
The common Buckthorn grows in our woods and thickets, and used to be popularly known because of the purgative syrup made from its juice and berries. It bears dense branches of small green flowers, followed by the black berries, which purge violently... Burnet Saxifrage
(see Pimpernel). ... Buttercup
The most common Buttercup of our fields (Ranunculus bulbosis) needs no detailed description. It belongs to the order termed Ranunculaceoe, so-called from the Latin rana, a frog, because the several varieties of this genus grow in moist places where... Cabbage
The time has come, as the walrus said in Alice and the Looking Glass, to talk of many things-- Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax; of Cabbages, and kings. The Cabbage, which is fabled to have sprung from the tears of the Spartan lawg... Capsicum (cayenne)
The Capsicum, or Bird Pepper, or Guinea Pepper, is a native of tropical countries; but it has been cultivated throughout Great Britain as a stove plant for so many years (since the time of Gerard, 1636) as to have become practically indigenous. Mor... Caraway
The common Caraway is a herb of the umbelliferous order found growing on many waste places in England, though not a true native of Great Britain. Its well-known aromatic seeds should be always at hand in the cupboard of every British housewife. The ... Caraway
(Carum carui, Linn.), a biennial or an annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. Its names, both popular and botanical, are supposed to be derived from Caria, in Asia Minor, where the plant is believed first to have attracted attention. From ve... Carrot
Our garden Carrot, or Dauke, is a cultivated variety of the Dalucus sylvestris, or wild carrot, an umbelliferous plant, which groweth of itself in untoiled places, and is called philtron, because it serveth for love matters. This wild Carrot may be ... Catnip
or =cat mint= (Nepeta cataria, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae. The popular name is in allusion to the attraction the plant has for cats. They not only eat it, but rub themselves upon it purring with delight. The generic name ... Celandine (greater And Lesser)
This latter flower is a conspicuous herald of spring, which is strikingly welcome to everyone living in the country throughout England, and a stranger to none. The Pilewort, or lesser Celandine, bespangles all our banks with its brilliant, glossy, g... Celery
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Of all the bitter appetising herbs which grow in our fields and hedgerows, and which serve as excellent simple tonics, the Centaury, particularly its white flowered variety, belonging to the Gentian order of [97] plants, is the most efficacious. It ... Chamomile
No Simple in the whole catalogue of herbal medicines is possessed of a quality more friendly and beneficial to the intestines than Chamomile flowers. This herb was well known to the Greeks, who thought it had an odour like that of apples, and theref... Cherry
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(Scandix Cerefolium, Linn.), a southern Europe annual, with stems about 18 inches tall and bearing few divided leaves composed of oval, much-cut leaflets. The small white flowers, borne in umbels, are followed by long, pointed, black seeds with a co... Chervil Or Beaked Parsley
There is found, writes Parkinson, during June and July, in almost every English hedge, a certain plant called Choerophyllum, in show very like unto Hemlockes, of a good and pleasant smell and taste, which have caused us to term it 'Sweet Chervill.' ... Chestnuts (horse And Sweet)
Ever since 1633 the Horse Chestnut tree has grown and flourished in England, having been brought at first from the mountains of Northern Asia. For the most part it is rather known and admired for its wealth of shade, its large handsome floral spikes... Chickweed
Chickweed--called Alsine or Stellaria media, a floral star of middle magnitude--belongs to the Clove-pink order of plants, and, despite the most severe weather, grows with us all the year round, in waste places by the roadsides, and as a garden weed... Chives
(Allium Schoenoprasum, Linn.), a bulbous, onion-like perennial belonging to the Liliaceae. Naturally the plants form thick tufts of abundant, hollow, grasslike leaves from their little oval bulbs and mat of fibrous roots. The short flower stems be... Christmas Rose--black Hellebore
This well-known plant, a native of Southern Europe, and belonging to the Ranunculus order, is grown commonly in our gardens for the sake of its showy white flowers, conspicuous in winter, from December to February. The root has been famous since ti... Clary
(Salvia sclarea, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae. The popular name is a corruption of the specific. In the discussion on sage will be found the significance of the generic name. Syria is said to be the original home of clary, ... Clover
In this country we possess about twenty species of the trefoil, or Clover, which is a plant so well known in its general features by its abundance in every field and on every grass plot, as not to need any detailed description. The special variety e... Club Moss
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The Comfrey of our river banks, and moist watery places, is the Consound, or Knit-back, or Bone-set, and Blackwort of country folk; and the old Symphytum of Dioscorides. It has derived these names from the consolidating and vulnerary qualities attr... Coriander
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(Coriandrum sativum, Linn.), "a plant of little beauty and of easiest culture," is a hardy annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. The popular name is derived from the generic, which comes from the ancient Greek Koris, a kind of bug, in allus... Cowslip
Our English pastures and meadows, especially where the soil is of blue lias clay, become brilliantly gay, with gaudy cowslips drest, quite early in the spring. But it is a mistake to suppose that these flowers are a favourite food with cows, who, in...