Of the Hiftorie of Plants. 
\Z}Z 
Of the Hiftorie of Plants. 
Chap. 517* 
Of the ojlie Tulfe called Sefamum. 
L 
1 B. 2, 
Sefamum, fine Sifamum , 
The Oylie Graine. 
The De fieri ft ion. 
t ^ Efim urn hath a thicke and fat vprighc 
^ ftalke a cubit and a halfe high , garni- 
• fhed with leanes much like the Peach 
or Almond, but tougher, and cut in with fomwhat 
deepe galhes on their Tides : amongft thefe leaues 
come forth large white or elfe red floures, fome- 
what fhaped like thofe of Foxgloues, which turnc 
into round long crefted cods , containing white 
flatoileous feed. T heophrajlus a ffirmeth that there 
is a kinde thereof which is white, bearing only one 
root. Nokinde ofbeaft will eate thisplantwhile 
it is greene, becaufe of his bitternelfe; but being 
withered and [dried, the feed thereof becommeth 
fweet.and the cattell will feed on the whole plant. 
The Place. 
Itgrowethboth in Egypt and in Ind'u-.Sefima, 
faith Pliny, c ame from the Indies; they make an 
oile of it. It is a ftranger in England. 
*T The Time. 
It is one of the Sommer grains, and is fowne be ' 
fore the rifing of the feuen ftarres,as Pliny writeth ; 
yet Columella faith, that Scfamum mull be fowne af- 
ter the Autumne aEquinodtial, againft the Ides of 
Oiftober : they require for the moll part a rotten 
foile, which thehusbandmen of Campania do call 
ablacke mold. 
The Names. 
The Grecians cal this grain .■ the Latines a\[o Sefamum, and Sifamum, and often in the foe- 
minine gender Sefama: we are conftrained for want of an Englifh name to vie the Latine.-itisvn- 
knownetothe Apothecaries, efpecially the plant it felfe ; but the feed and oyle thereof is to be 
found among them in other countries : we may call it Turky Millet. 
The T emperature and Vertues. 
A According to fome it is hot and dry in the firft degree : the feed thereof, as Galen faith, is far, and 
therefore being Iaydvp itcomraeth to be oylie very quickly ; tvherfore it fpeedily filleth and ftuf- 
feth vp thofe that feed thereof, and ouerthroweth the ftomacke, and is How of digeftion, and yeel- 
deth to the body a fat nourifhment ; therefore it is manifeft that it cannot ftrengthen the Itomack, 
or any part thereof, as alfo no other kind offat thing : and the iuice thatcommeth thereof is thick, 
and therefore it cannot fpeedily palfethorow the veines. Mendo not greedily feed of it alone, but 
make cakes thereofwith honey, which they call 2.™^ , it is alfo mixed with bread, and is of an 
hot temperature, for which caufe it procureth third: : and in hisbooke of the facilities of fimplc 
Medicines he faith, that Sefamum is not a little clammy and fat, and therefore it is an emplafticke, 
and a foftner, and is moderately hot : the oile which commeth thereof is of like temperature, and 
fo is the deco&ion of the herbe alfo. 
B Diofcorides writeth, That Sefamum is an enemie to the ftomacke, it caufeth a finking breath, ifit 
remaine flicking betweene the teeth after it is chewed. 
C Itwafteth away grolfenes ofthe finevves , it is a remedie againft bruifes of the cares, inflamma- 
tions, burnings and fealdings, pains of the ioynts, and biting ofthe poyfonfom horned ferpent cal- 
r ed Ceraftes. Being mixed with oile of Rofes it takes away the head-ache which commeth of heate. 
Ofthe fame force is the herbe boyled in wine, but it is efpecially good for the heate and paine 
oftheeyes. 
Ofthe herb is made an oilevfed ofthe Egyptians, which as Pliny faith is good for the cares. 
It is a remedie againft thsfounding and ringing of the cares. 
C H A P. 
