548 MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



CHAFfER X. 

 MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



Bene-plant. Chamomile. Coltsfoot. Elecampane. Iloarhound. Hys- 

 sop. Licorice. Mandrake, or May Apple. Pennyroyal. Poppy. Pal- 

 mate-leaved or Turkey Rhubarb. Hue. Saffron. Southernwood. 

 Wormwood. 



BENE-PLANT. 

 Oily Grain. Sesamum sp. 



AID to have been introduced into this country 

 from Africa by the negroes. It is cultivated 

 in the south of Europe, and in Egypt is grown 

 to a considerable extent for forage and culi- 

 nary purposes. 



It is a hardy annual, with an erect, four-sided stem from 

 two to four feet high, and opposite, lobed, or entire leaves ; 

 the flowers terminate the stalk in loose spikes, and are of a 

 dingy-white color ; the seeds are oval, flattened, and pro- 

 duced in an oblong, pointed capsule. 



Propagation and Cultivation. It is propagated from seeds, 

 which should be sown in spring, as soon as the ground has 

 become well settled. They may be sown where the plants 

 are to remain ; or in a nursery-bed, to be afterwards trans- 

 planted. The plants should be grown in rows eighteen inches 

 or two feet apart, and about a foot apart in the rows. The 

 after-culture consists simply in keeping the ground loose, and 

 free from weeds. The plant is said to yield a much greater 



