!_• I B. 





V 



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le 



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fpi 



ants. 



'33* 



I 



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^[ TbeDcfcriptib*. 



2 



hfcondes makes mention of ^c^r/^w hereof "the firft is the true and right Acaci.^ which 

 i a (lirub or hedge trec,but not growing right or ftraight vp as other frnal! trees doe: 



his branches are wooddy, befet with many hard and long thornes • about which gro 

 the Ieaues,compaa of many fmall leaues cluttering about one fide as in the Lcnti! i the flours are 

 whieirh, tbe huskes or cods be plaine and flat, yea very broad like Lupines, cf pecialiy on that fide 

 where the feed growes,\vhich is contained fomtimes in one part,and ibmtimes in two parts of the 

 busk,groiviug together in a narrow neck : the feed is fmoothandgliftcring.Thcrcis a Uack juyce 

 taken out of thefe huskes, if they be dried in the fhade when they be ripe ; but it : hey are not ripe 

 tbtn it isfomwbarred : fomedo wring a juice out of the leaues and fruit : there iiowes ajfoa gum 

 out of this tree,which is the gum of Arabia>called gum Arabick. 



Diofcoru'es hauing defcribed Spina Acacia^ fets downe a fecond kindc thereof, calling it Aca- 

 cia iherajwhich hath the three leaues of Rue or Cytifus&nd coddes like thofe ofGemfte/IaJbut fomc- 

 Urbat more blunt at theend 5 and thicke at the backc like a Rafor,and ftill giowcth forward narrower 

 and narrower,vntill it come tohauc a fharpeedge: in thefe cods are contained three or fourc flat 

 feeds like G en i ft ell a, which before they wax ripe are yellow, but afterwards blackc I the whole plan: 

 growes to the height o\ Genista (pinofa or Gorfle,both in fhape, height, and rcfcmblance, and not to 

 the height of a crec,as Matthhlus would perfuade vs,but full of fharp thornes like the former. 



% The Place. 



The true Acacia growcth inEgypt,Palefiina,Lombardy,and Syrians Diojcorides writcs:among 

 the flirubs and trees that remainc alwaies green , Acacia is noted for one 3 by Pctrus Bcllcmus, hL i. 

 ^.44, of his Singularities. 



The other Acacia growes in Cappadociaand Pontus, as Diofcoridcs write th : it is alfo found in 

 Corfica, and in diuers mountaines of Italy, and likewifevponallthecoaftof Liguriaand Lotn- 

 bardie,and vpon the Narbon coaflof the Mediterranean fea. 



t(f The Time. 



Thefe floure in May,and their fruit is ripe in the end of Auguft. 



• ; # , .* / '. «tf The Names. 



The tree Acacia is named of the Grecians Mfc&i, yea cuen in our time, &lilccwifc of the Latines 

 Acacia • it is alfo called Egjptiajpina : this ftrange thorne hath no Englifli name rhat I can learnc, 

 and therefore it may (till keep the Latine name Acacia; yet I haue named it the Egyptian thorne. 

 Thejuice alfo is called Acacia. The Apothecaries of Germanievfe in ftead hereof the juice that 



1 



s preffed out of floes or fnags,which they therefore call Acacia Germanic*. Mattktolus pifturcth for 

 Macia the tree which the later Herbarifts call Arbor luda, to which he hath vntruly added thornes, 

 that he might belie Acacia •, and yet he hath not made it agree with Diofcendcs his delcription. 



They call this E'7t©e^«« : in Latine, Acacia alter a^ ot the other Acacia^and t arnica Acacia fit Pon- 

 ticke Acacia. 



^J The Nature. 



The juice of Acacia,as Galen faith, confiftsnot ofonconely fubftance,but is both cold and ear- 

 thy,to which alfo is coupled a certain waterieeffence,andit likewife hath thinneand hot parts di- 

 fperfedinit fclfe ; therefore it is dry in the third degree, and cold in the firft, if it be not waftied ; 

 and in the fecond if it be wa(hed 5 for by wafhing it lofeth his fharp and biting quality,and the hot 



parts. 



^f The Vertues. 



The juice of Acacia ftoppeth the Iaske 3 the inordinat courfe of womens termes,and mansinvo- A 



luntarie iffuc called Gonorrhaa y if it be drunbe in red wine. 



It heaieth the bladings and inflammations of the eies, and maketh the skin and palmes of the B 

 hands fmooth, after the healing of the Serpigo : it heaieth the b lifters & extreme heat in the mouth, 

 and maketh the haires blacke that are wafhed therewith. 



It is good,faith Diofcorides ^gainft S.Anthonies fire, the (hingles,Chimetla,Pterygia,&: whit- C 

 Iovves. 



The gum doth binde and fbmvvhat coole : it hath alfo joined vnto it an emplaft icke qualitie,by t> 

 which itdulleth oralayeth the fharpnefleof the medicines wherewith it is mixed. Being applied 



^th the white and yolk of an egge it fuffers no t blifters to rife in burned or fcalded parts. Diofc. 



The juice of the other,faith Diofcorides ,doth alfo binde,but it is not foeffc&uall nor fo good in 

 eye medicines. 



■ 



criDri? U £ Author 2* uc butformcrly one fTgurC^whuh w«i thx? latkc fecoad pll cc, *ad he would hwc perfwded vs due it vft$ 9i ch: t\°\it ActcH, vet & & s de " 



E 



/ 



Chap.' 



