Chap. 85.] WILD LAPATHTJM OE 0XALI8. 28/ 



CHAP. 85. — WILD LAPATHUM OE OXALIS, OTHERWISE CALLED 

 LAPATHUM CANTHERINUM, OR RUMEX : ONE REMEDY. HYDRO- 

 LAPATHinu: : two remedies. HIPPOLAPATHUM ; SIX REMEDIES, 

 - OXYLAPATHXTM : EOTIR REMEDIES. 



Lapathum, too, has pretty nearly the same properties. 

 There is a wild^^ variety, known to some as ** oxalis," 

 very similar in taste to the cultivated kind, with pointed 

 leaves, a colour like that of white beet, and an extremely 

 diminutive root : our people call it *'rumex,"" while others, 

 again, give it the name of " lapathum cantherinum." ^*^Mixed 

 with axle-grease, this plant is very efficacious for scrofu- 

 lous sores. There is another kind, again, hardly forming 

 a distinct vai'iety, known as " oxylapathon,"-^ which resembles 

 the cultivated kind even more than the last, though the 

 leaves are more pointed and redder : it grows only in marshy 

 spots. Some authors are found who speak of a '' hydrola- 

 pathon,"-^ which grows in the water, they say. There is also 

 another variety, known as " hippolapathon,"^ larger than the 

 cultivated kind, whiter, and more compact. 



The wild varieties of the lapathum are a cure -* for the 

 stings of scorpions, and protect those who carry the plant on 

 their person from being stung. A decoction of the root in 

 vinegar, employed as a gargle, is beneficial to the^' teeth, and 

 if drunk, is a cure for jaundice. The seed is curative of the 

 most obstinate maladies of the stomach. ^^ The root of hip- 

 polapathum, in particular, has the property of bringing off 

 malformed nails ; and the seed, taken in wine, in doses of two 

 drachmae, is a cure for dysentery. The seed of oxy lapathum, 



^^ The Eumex acetosella of Linneeus, or small sorrel. 



^9 See B. xix. c. 60. 20 u jj^j-gg Lapathum." 



21 Or " Lapathum with pointed leaves ;" the Rumex acutus of Linnaeus. 



22 Qj. a ^atgi^. lapathum ;" the Rumex aquaticus of Linnaeus. 



23 Or " horse lapathum ;" the Rumex patientia of Linnaeus : or dock, 

 as Fee thinks : though, according to Sprengel, the cultivated lapathum was 

 identical with that plant. 



21 The medicinal properties of the lapathum vary according to the parts 

 of the plant employed. The leaves and stalks of the acid kinds of Rumex 

 are refreshing, and slightly diuretic and laxative. The action of those 

 which are not acid is sudorific, antiherpetic, and depurative. 



■25 Fee says that it would be of no benefit whatever for tooth-ache. 



26 It is not possessed of any stomachic properties, Fee remarks. 



