AND COMPLETE HERBAL: 05 
GovERNMENT AND Virtues. It is a hot and biting martial plant: brooklime 
and water-crefles are generally ufed together in diet drinks, with other things, 
ferving to purge the blood and body from ill humours that would deftroy health, 
and are helpful for the feurvy : they do alfo provoke urine, and help to break the 
‘ftone and pafs it away; they provoke women’s courfes, and expel the dead’ child. 
Being fryed with butter and vinegar, and applied warm, it helpeth all manner of 
tumours, fwellings, and infammations. 
Such drinks ought to be made of fundry herbs according to the malady offending, 
I thall give a plain and eafy rule for that purpofe, at the latter end of this book. 
YEA wuorveunnrs BROOM. 
IT is called rufcus, and brufcus, knee-holm, knee-holly, knee-hulver, and 
pettigreee. 
Description. The firft fhoots that fprout from the root of butcher’s broom, are 
thick, whitifh, and fort, fomewhat like thofe of afparagus, but greater ; they rifing 
up to be a foot and a half high, are fpread into divers branches, green and fome- 
what crefted with the roundnefs, ‘tough and flexible, whereon are fet fomewhat 
bread, and almoft round hard leaves, and prickly pointed at ‘the ends, of a dark 
green colour, two for the moft part fet ata place, very clofe or near together ; ; about 
the middle of the leaf on the back and lower fide from the middle rib, breaketh 
forth a fmall whitifth green flower, confifting of four fmall round pointed leaves, 
ftanding upon little or no footftalk, and in the place whereof cometh a {mall round 
berry, green at the firft, and red whenit is ripe, wherein are two or three white, hard, 
round feeds contained; the root is thick, white, and great at. the head, and from 
_ thence fendeth forth divers thick, white, long, tough ftrings. Bees 
-Prace. It groweth in coppices, and on heaths and waite grounds, and ‘ObreD. 
times under or near the holly buthes. 
Trme. It fhooteth forth its young buds in the cae: and the hee a are ripe in 
or about September ; the branches or leaves abiding green all the winter, : 
_ GovERNMENT AND Virtues. It isa plant of Mars, _ being of a gallant cleanfing 
etal opening quality; the decoétion.of. the roots. ‘made with wine, openeth obftruc- 
tions, provoketh urine, helpeth to expel gravel, and the ftone, the ftranguary, and 
womens’ courfes, as alfo the yellow jaundic ¢, and the head ach , and with fome ho- 
 mey or fugar 45 therein, cleanfeth the breaft of phlegm, and the chet of much af 
¢lammy humour red therein ; the decottions of the root drank, and a poulti ae 
made of the berries and leaves, being applied, are effectual in knitting and confol 
Snive broken bones, or r parts out of joint, The common way of —_ i, is 
