HERB ROBERT 145 
Wound, Cammock, Herb John, St. John’s Wort, Penny John, Rosin 
Rose, Touch and Heal. 
Leaves boiled in wine were supposed to cure and heal up wounds. 
Perhaps also the perforations were thought to resemble wounds, when 
by Doctrine of Signatures the plant would in the older days therefore 
cure wounds. In the Netherlands the people gathered it before dawn, 
and it was reputed to take away the ill effects of lightning. It was 
believed that it revealed a witch, and on St. John’s Eve, when they 
were active, it was worn as a charm. For similar reasons they call it 
Devil Chaser in Italy, and doorways and windows were decorated on 
that day. The name Devil’s Flight sums up the idea that it drives 
away evil spirits. If one trod on it at night in the Isle of Man a fairy 
horse would appear and carry one about all night. On Midsummer 
Eve it was employed as a love charm. 
It is placed under the beams in the roof in Denmark for divination 
by lovers, one for each, and if they grow together it is considered 
a good omen. On St. John the Baptist’s Day it was hung up over the 
doors of houses, according to Stowe (Survev of London), to drive away 
witches. The red pods are connected with John’s beheadal as drops 
of blood. It was dedicated to St. John. The plant was also called 
Peterwort. In the Middle Ages they called it Fuga Damonum. It 
formed one of the ingredients of “ Save” of Chaucer’s day, and was 
used by knights for their wounds. It was used for wounds in the 
same way as balsam. Red and yellow dyes are given by the plant. 
Steeped in turpentine a red varnish is produced. An essential oil is 
secreted in the perforations of the plant. Spirits and oils are tinged 
purple by the flowers. It is bitter and astringent, and acts as a diuretic, 
having been used for ulcerated kidneys. 
EssENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS :— 
61. Hypericum perforatum, L.—Stem erect, 2-angled, leaves 
oblong, with pellucid dots, flowers yellow, sepals acute, erect, not 
fringed, styles equalling the capsule, petals oblong. 
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum, L.) 
None of the seed-bearing beds have produced seeds of Herb 
Robert as yet. The North Temperate and Arctic Zones form the 
limit of its range in Arctic Europe, North Africa, Siberia, Western 
Asia, as far as N.W. India. It is found in every part of Great Britain, 
as well as Ireland and the Channel Isles, and in Yorkshire it is found 
at the height of 2000 ft. 
Vou. II. 40 
