JOSSKLYN BOTANICAL SOCIETY 



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supposed medicinal properties. Notable among the remedial 

 agencies of the middle ages is the lichen now known as Pelti- 

 gera canina. Preparations produced from this plant known 

 as "pulvis antilyssus" , or ^pulvis contra rabiem", were indi- 

 cated with the utmost faith for persons bitten by a mad dog. 

 The great Boerhaave jokingly asserted of this remedy that if 

 it was administered with success it would merely affirm that 

 the dog was not mad. Another eminent physician ques- t 

 tioned if the concomitants of the remedy, bleeding, pepper, 

 cold bathing and violent massage, might not be in truth 

 the saving principle. In any event, to us at this day the 

 secondary treatment seems fully as formidable as the bite. 

 Another Peltigera, now called P. aphthosa, long remained 

 in the Swedish dispensatory, and still retained its great 

 repute after its removal from that august compilation. 

 Preparations from this plant were prescribed for the thrush 

 in children. It was also indicated in cases of intestinal and 

 stomach worms, and Linnaeus himself is said to have on sev- 

 eral occasions acknowledged its efficiency. 



Yet another antique remedy of general use was the "mus- 

 cus ptdmonaritim' ' , or ' 'lungwort' ' , to which the scientific name 

 of Slicta pnlmonaria has been given. Prescribed for pulmo- 

 nary diseases, many cases of cure were asserted for the remedy, 

 but medical science now insists that the effect of the prepara- 

 tion was merely that of a palliative. In the medicine of me- 

 diaeval times, the last mentioned lichen and many others were 

 used to a surprising extent. To the degree in which the plant 

 tasted bitter, the amount of mucilage that it would yield on 

 boiling, the color of that solution, the color and shape, and 

 the place of occurrence, were attributed the many supposed 

 remedial virtues. One of the celebrated remedies of ancient 

 days was the "usnea cranii human? a lichen found on old 

 bones, particularly the human cranium. The preparation 

 from this plant was indicated for diverse maladies of myste- 

 rious source and impossible diagnosis. What a hopeful view 

 of his disease the poor patient must have received, if the 

 source of the remedy was disclosed to him. Another favorite 

 remedy employed to produce sleep, stop vomiting, restrain 

 fluxes and strengthen the stomach was a vinous infusion of 



