AND ENGLISH PHYSICIAN ENLARGED. . 
111 
Place. | It grows in bogs and moorish. 
_ places, and also on dry shady places, as 
Hampstead Heath, and elsewhere. 
MALLOWS AND MARSHMALLOWS. 
Common Mallows are generally so well 
known that they need no description. 
Our common Marshmallows have divers 
soft hairy white stalks, rising to be three or 
four feet high, spreading forth many 
branches, the leaves whereof are soft and 
hairy, somewhat lesser than the other Mal- 
low leaves, but longer pointed, cut (for the 
most part) into some few divisions, but 
deep. The flowers are many, but smaller 
also than the other Mallow, and white, or 
tending to a blueish colour. After which 
come such long, round cases and seeds, as in 
the other Mallows. The roots are many and 
long, shooting from one head, of the bigness 
of a thumb or finger, very pliant, tough, and 
being like liquorice, of a whitish yellow 
colour on the outside, and more whitish 
within, full of a slimy juice, which being 
laid in water, will thicken, as if it were a 
jelly. 
Place.] The common Mallows grow in 
every county of this land. The common 
Marshmallows in most of the salt marshes, 
from Woolwich down to the sea, both on the 
Kentish and Essex shores, and in divers 
other places of this land. 
_ Time.| They flower all the Summer 
Months, even until the Winter do pull them 
down. 
Government and virtues.] Venus owns 
them both. The leaves of either of the sorts 
both specified, and the roots also boiled in 
_ wine or water, or in broth with parsley or 
fennel roots, do help to open the body, and 
are very convenient in hot agues, or other 
distempers of the body, to apply the leaves 
So boiled warm to the belly. It not only 
'Yoids hot, choleric, and other offensive 
humours, but eases the pains and torments 
(of the belly coming thereby; and are there- 
scabs in the head, or other parts, if they 
fore used in all clysters conducing to those 
purposes. The same used by nurses pro- 
cures them store of milk. The decoction 
of the seed of any of the common Mallows 
made in milk or wine, doth marvellously 
help excoriations, the phthisic, pleurisy, and 
other diseases of the chest and lungs, that 
proceed of hot causes, if it be continued tak- 
ing for some time together. The leaves and 
root works the same effects. They help 
much also in the excoriations of the bowels, 
and hardness of the mother, and in all hot 
and sharp diseases thereof, The juice drank 
in wine, or the decoction of them therein, 
do help women to a speedy and easy de- 
livery. Pliny saith, that whosoever take a 
spoonful of any of the Mallows, shall that 
day be free from all diseases that may come 
unto him; and that it is specially good for 
the falling sickness. The syrup also and 
conserve made of the flowers, and very ef- 
fectual for the same diseases, and to open 
the body, being costive. The leaves bruised, 
and laid to the eyes with a little honey, take 
away the imposthumations of them. The 
leaves bruised or rubbed upon any place 
stung with bees, wasps, or the like, pres- | 
ently take away the pains, redness, and 
swelling that rise thereupon. And Diosco- 
rides saith, The decoction of the roots and 
leaves helps all sorts of poison, so as the 
poison be presently voided by vomit. A 
poultice made of the leaves boiled and: 
bruised, with some bean or barley flower, 
and oil of roses added, is an especial remedy 
against all hard tumours and inflammations, 
or imposthumes, or swellings of the privi- 
ties, and other parts, and eases the pains of 
them; as also against the hardness of the _ 
liver or spleen, being applied to the places. _ 
The juice of Mallows boiled in old oil and 
applied, takes away all roughness of the 
skin, as also the scurf, dandriff, or dry 
anointed therewith, or washed with t 
