BOOK XXIV. Lxxiv. i2i-L.\.\v. 123 



LXXIV. A second kind of bramble, on which a 

 rose grows, produces a little round growth like a 

 chestnut, an excellent remedy for the stone. It is 

 diiferent from the dog-rose, about which I shall 

 speak " in the next book. 



The cynosbatos is called by sonie cynapanxis, 

 by others neurospastos. It has a leaf Uke a man's 

 foot-print. It also bears a black cluster, in the berry 

 of which it has a string, whence the whole shrub is 

 called neurospastos.'' It is different from the caper 

 that the physicians have called cynosbatos. The stalk " 

 of this, pickled in vinegar, is chewed as a remedy for 

 affections of the spleen and for flatulence. The 

 string of it chewed up with Chian mastic cleanses the 

 mouth. The rose-blossom of brambles with axle- 

 grease clears away mange ; the berries mixed with 

 oil of unripe grapes dye the hair. The blossom of the 

 blackberry is gathered at harvest-time. The white 

 blossom taken in wine is excellent for pleurisy and 

 also for coeliac affections. The root, boiled down to 

 one-third, checks looseness of the bowels and haemor- 

 rhage ; the decoction also makes a wash that streng- 

 thens the teeth. With the same juice are fomented 

 sores of the anus and of the genitals. The ash from 

 the root replaces a relaxed uvula. 



LXXV. The Idaean bramble was so called because 

 no other grows on Mount Ida. It is, however, more 

 dehcate than other brambles and smaller, with the 

 canes farther apart and less prickly ; it grows under 

 the shade of trees. The blossom of it with honey 

 is applied to fluxes of tlie eyes and to erysipelas, and 

 in water it is given as a drink to patients with dis- 

 ordered stomachs '^ ; its other properties are the same 

 as those mentioned above. 



