Chap. 94.] THE AKEMONE OE PHEENION. 379 



as " sampsuchinum," or " amaracinum," which is very good 

 for warming and softening the sinews ; it has a warming effect, 

 also, upon the uterus. The leaves are good for bruises, beaten 

 up with honey, and, mixed with wax, for sprains. 



CHAP. 94. (23.) TEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE ANEMONE OR 



PHRENION. 



"We have as yet spoken 6 only of the anemone used for making 

 chaplets ; we will now proceed to describe those kinds which 

 are employed for medicinal purposes. Some persons give the 

 name of " phrenion" to this plant : there are two species of 

 it ; one of which is wild, 7 and the other grows on cultivated 8 

 spots ; though they are, both of them, attached to a sandy 

 soil. Of the cultivated anemone there are numerous varieties ; 

 some, and these are the most abundant, have a scarlet flower, 

 while others, again, have a flower that is purple or else milk- 

 white. The leaves of all these three kinds bear a strong re- 

 semblance to parsley, and it is not often that they exceed half 

 a foot in height, the head being very similar to that of aspa- 

 ragus. The flower never opens, except while the wind is 

 blowing, a circumstance to which it owes its name. 9 The wild 

 anemone is larger than the cultivated one, and has broader 

 leaves, with a scarlet flower. 



Some persons erroneously take the wild anemone to be the 

 same as the argemone, 10 while others, again, identify it with 

 the poppy which we have mentioned 11 under the name of 

 "rhceas :" there is, however, a great difference between them, 

 as these two other plants blossom later than the anemone, nor 

 does the anemone possess a juice or a calyx like theirs ; besides 

 which, it terminates in a head like that of asparagus. 



The various kinds of anemone are good for pains and in- 

 flammations of the head, diseases of the uterus, and stoppage 

 of the milk in females ; taken, too, in a ptisan, or applied as a 

 pessary in wool, they promote the menstrual discharge. The 

 root, chewed, has a tendency to bring away the phlegm, and 



In c. 38 of this Book. 



7 The Anemone coronaria of Linnaeus, Fee thinks. 



8 Probably the Adonis sestivalis of Linneeus, a ranunculus. These 

 plants are of an acrid, irritating nature, and rank at the present day among 

 the vegetable poisons. . 



9 The " wind-flower," from the Greek aj//*oc, wind. 



10 5 ee B ^y. c . 26. n I D B - xix - c - 53 - 



