Chap. 17.] 
lirOSCYAMOS. 
91 
guish two varieties of this plant — the one with a smooth leaf, 
the other of a more delicate form. 
CHAP. 15. — THE HEKACLEON SIDERION : FOUR EEMEDIES. 
The heracleon siderion^^ is also another discovery of Her- 
cules. The stem is thin, about four fingers in length, the 
flower red, and the leaves like those of coriander. It is found 
growing in the vicinity of lakes and rivers, and is extremely 
efficacious for the cure of all wounds made by iron.^^ 
CHAP. 16. THE AMPELOS CHTKONIA : OJ^E REMEDY. 
The ampelos Chironia*^^ also, which we have already^ men- 
tioned when speaking of the vines, is a discovery due to 
Chiron. We have spoken too, on a previous occasion, of a 
plant, the discovery of which is attributed to Minerva. 
CHAP. 17. — HYOSCYAMOS, KNOWN ALSO AS THE APOLLINARIS OK 
ALTERCUM ; FIVE VARIETIES OF IT : THREE REMEDIES. 
To Hercules also is attributed the discovery of the plant 
known as the apollinaris," and, among the Arabians, as the 
^^altcrcum" or altercangenum by the Greeks it is called 
*' hyoscyamos."'^ There are several varieties of it ; one of 
them,*^^ with a black seed, flowers bordering on purple, and a 
prickly stem, growing in Galatia, The common kind"^'- again, 
is whiter, more shrublike, and taller than the poppy. The 
seed of a third variety is similar to that of irio'^ in appearance ; 
but they have, all of them, the eflect of producing vertigo and 
insanity. A fourth"^* kind again is soft, lanuginous, and more 
unctuous than the others ; the seed of it is white, and it grows 
in maritime localities. It is this kind that medical men 
65 Hardouin identifies it with the Geranium Eobertianum of Linnaeus ; 
Sprengel and Desfontaines with the Phellandrium mutellina of Linnaeus; 
Columna with the Sanicula ; Sibthorpe with the Scrofularia lucida ; and 
M. Fraas with the Scrofula chrysanthemifolia of Linn[eus. Fee expresses 
himself unable to speak with any certainty on the subject. 
6^ Whence its name "sidereon." ^7 Qr Chironian vine.*' 
68 In B. xxiii. c. 17. ^9 jn i^^ ^xii. c. 20. 
'0 *' Swine's bean " — our henbane. 
The Hyoscyamus reticulatus of Linnaeus, reticulated henbane. 
The Hyoscyamus niger of Linnaeus, black henbane. 
See B. xviii. c. 22, and B. xxii. c. 75. The Hyoscyamus aureus of 
Linnajus, golden henbane. 
■^■^ The Hyoscyamus albus of Linnaeus, white henbane. 
