THE BOOK OF THE PEONY 



which resemble vetches ) , by some and the ' glu- 

 cuside ' by others. ... It grows in umbrageous 

 mountain locaHties and puts forth a stem amid 

 the leaves, some four fingers in height, at the 

 summit of which are four or five heads resembling 

 Greek nuts in appearance ; enclosed in which there 

 is a considerable quantity of seed of a red or black 

 colour. This plant is a preservative against de- 

 lusions practised by the Fauni in sleep (night- 

 mare). ... 



Pliny devotes one chapter to a fuller de- 

 scription of the plant and sets out twenty ills or 

 diseases of the human body which it will cure. 

 Among these are jaundice, gnawing pains in the 

 stomach and certain affections of the trachea. He 

 says it acts as an astringent and then adds: " It 

 is eaten also by beasts of burden, but when wanted 

 for remedial purposes four drachmae are 

 sufficient." ' 



Dioscorides, a medical man who flourished in 

 the first century of the Christian Era, describes 

 about five hundred plants in his Materia Medica. 

 The peony is included in this work. The famous 



5 Natural History : Book XXV, Ch. 10. 

 « Natural History: Book XXV, Ch. 60. 

 3i 



