322 FAMILY HERBAL, 



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Indian Spikenard. JsTirdus Indica 



AN East Indian plant, of the grass kind, livith 

 triangular stalks, and yellowish flowers. It re- 

 sembles not a little that common yellow tufted grass, 

 which is frequent in our meadows in spring. It h 

 six or eight inches high. The leaves are long, 

 narrow, and of pale green ; they are very numerous^ 

 and stand in a thick tuft almost growing together 

 at the bases. The stalks rise among these ; they arc 

 naked, triangular, and of a pale, green colour ; the 

 flowers stand in tufts, of the bigness of an horse- 

 bean, on the tops of the stalks ; they are blackish^ 

 but ornamented with yellow threads, which gi\e 

 the whole a yellowish appearance.^ This is the 

 plant, some samples of which haTC been of late 

 brought over, as the Indian spikenard, and there 

 is reason and authority for supposing fhcy are so. 

 The tops of the roots have that sort of tuft of hairy 

 matter, which we call Indian spikenard, growing 

 to them ; and it is of the nature of the hairy top 



of the spignel root, owing to the fibres of decayed 

 leaves. »Breynius also calls the plant which affords 

 the Indian spikenard, a kind of cyperus grass. 



The tuft of fibres at the tops of the root of 

 this plant, is what we call Indian spikenard ; they 

 arebrown^ flattish, matted together, and of a plea-< 

 sant smell : they are good in disorders of th;; 

 nerves, and hysteric cases ; but so many better 

 medicines are at hand, that this is rarelv used. 



Sponge. Spongia. 

 A SEA plant of a very singular kind and form,. 



It has neither leaves, stalks^ nor branches, nor haS 

 it the colour or aspect of our ordiuary plants. 

 It more approaches to the nature of the mirshroom^^ 



