204 



CHAP. LXXIX 

 Of Elecampane. 



HAving appropriated feverall Simples, to the infide and out- 

 fide of the Throat, The Breaft comes next in Order to be 

 provided for, both internally and externally, to which there 

 is nothin.g more proper than Elecampane * * * : fome think it took 

 the name from the tears of Helen, from whence it fprung, which 

 is a Fable; others fay it was fo called becaufe Helen firft found it 

 available againft biting and f tingings of venemous Beasts ; and others 

 think it took its name from the Ifland Helena where the beft was 

 found to grow. * * * 



The Kindes. 



To this Plant, which otherwife would be fingle, do fome refer the 

 Flowers of the Sun, as i. The greater flower of the Sun. 2. The 

 lefser flower of the Sun. 3. The Male flower of the Sun. 4. The 

 Marigold Sunflower. 



The Forme. 



Elecampane fhooteth forth many large leaves lying neer the ground, 

 which are long and broad, but fmall at both ends; fomewhat foft in 

 handling, of a whitifh green on the upper fide; and gray under- 

 neath, each fet upon a fhort ftalk: From amongft which, rife up 

 divers great and ftrong hairy ftalks, two or three foot high with fome 

 leaves thereon compaffing them about at the lower ends, and are 

 branched towards the tops bearing divers great and large flowers like 

 unto thofe of the flower of the Sun, of which it is faid to be a kind, as 

 I faid before ; both the border of the leaves and the middle Thrum 

 being yellow, which is not wholly converted into large seed, as in 

 the flower of the Sun; but turneth into Down with fome long fmall 

 brownifh feed among it, and is carried away with the wind : the Root 

 is great and thick, branched forth divers waies, blackifh on the out- 

 fide, and white within, of a very bitter tafte but good fent, efpecially 

 when it is dryed, no part elfe of the plant having any fmell. 



The Places and Time. 



This is one of the Plants, whereof England may boaft as much as 

 any: for there growes none better in the world then in England; 

 let Apothecaries and Druggifts fay what they will. It groweth in 

 meadows that are fat and fruitful as in Parfons Meadow by Adder- 

 bury as I have been told, and in divers other places about Oxfordshire. 

 It is found alfo upon the Mountains and fhadowy places that be not 

 altogether dry: it groweth plentifully in the fields on the left hand as 

 you go from Dunftable to Puddle hill. Alfo in an Orchard as 



