464 Pliny's natural uistort. [Book XXIII. 



are sometimes eaten by themselves, in combination with pep- 

 per, for the purpose of cleansing the mouth and clearing- tlie 

 brain. 



CHAP. 13 THE ASTAPHISAGRIA, OTHERWISE CALLED STAPfllS OK 



TAMIXIA : TWELVE EEMEDIKS. 



The wdld astaphis, otherwise called staphis,'* is by some per- 

 sons erroneously called " uva taminia;"^^ for it is altogether a 

 distinct plant from the other. It has a black, upright stem, with 

 leaves resembling those of the labrusca,^ and bears what we may 

 call a pod,^^ rather than a grape, green, similar to a chick-pea 

 in appearance, and enclosing a kernel of triangular form. The 

 fruit of it ripens with the vintage and turns black, while the 

 berries of the taminia,^^ as is w^ell known, are red ; this last, 

 too, as we are aware, grows only in shaded spots, while the 

 wild astaphis, on the other hand, loves a site that is exposed 

 to the sun. 



I would not recommend any one to use the kernels'^' of the 

 wild astaphis as a purgative, as it is very doubtful whether they 

 might not choke the patient : nor w^ould I advise them to be 

 employed for the purpose of attenuating the phlegm, as they 

 are extremely irritating to the throat. Beaten up, however, and 

 applied topically, they kill vermin-*^ in the head and other parts 

 ot the body, more particularly if they are used with sanda- 

 rach ; they are very useful, too, for itch-scabs and prurigo. A 

 decoction of the kernels is made with vinegar, for the cure of 

 tooth-ache,' diseases of the ears, cicatrices^^ that are slow in 

 healing, and running sores. 



The blossoms of the plant are beaten up and taken in wine 



^ Identified with the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnaeus. 



^ '•' Taminian grape." ^® Or wild vine. 



^" The fruit is formed of three oblong capsules, containing a triangular 

 seed of black brown colour, about the size of a kidney bean. 



=^^ This is not the white vine or bryony, mentioned in c. 16 of tliis 

 Book, but the Tamus communis of Linnaeus. 



^^ The seeds, which are remarkably pungent and powerful in their 

 effects, are only used, at the present day, iu medicinal preparations fur 

 cattle. 



*" This is still done at the present day; to which it is indebted for its 

 French name I' herbe pediculaire, or louse-plant. 



*^ Pliny seems again to have fallen into the error of mistaking ov\ov, 

 the " ffums " for ovXij, a "cicatrix ;'' the corrtsponding passage in JJios- 

 corides, i>. iv. c. lo6, being "dcfluxions of the gums." 



