AGRIMONY AND THE COMMON AVENS 421 



growing by the roadsides during the summer 

 months, has, if the many useful properties ascribed 

 to it are merited, been well named the all-heal. 

 Its yellow-golden flower is so small and unpre- 

 tentious as readily to escape observation. Its 

 chief beauty consists in the shape of its leaf, 

 which is said to be the most beautiful of all our 

 wild-flower leaves. Nor are its flowers altogether 

 scentless, yielding, when bruised, a sweet and 

 fruity aroma. This plant is still used by 

 herbalists as a tonic gargle for sore-throat, and 

 also as a remedy for certain complaints of the 

 liver.* In olden days it was held to be an 

 efficacious cure for snake-bites. Its name is 

 derived from the Greek word apyt/na, from apyos 

 (white), the plant being supposed to cure a disease 

 of the eye known as the ' web ' or * pearl '; and a 

 decoction made from the leaves of the plant was 

 frequently administered as a febrifuge. 



Both the common and the water avens were 

 formerly used medicinally. The yellow flowers 

 of the former are familiar to many of us. When 

 the petals fall, a small, round, prickly ball is ap- 

 parent. And of the many good qualities ascribed 

 to this plant, by no means the least are the 

 pleasing scent and the moth-repelling powers of 

 its root. In olden days it was esteemed a sacred 

 flower, amongst its many other appellations being 

 those of herba benedicta, herb bennet, star of the 

 earth, etc. 



* The cottagers in my own village make use of this plant, 

 drying the flowers, and making a kind of tonic tea from them. 



