Tribe 8 . 
The Theater of Plants. 
/HAP. 12 . 
Nucula terrcfirh major v el miff or. 
Earth-nuts oi-Chefnuts, 
The Names. 
It hath no Greeke name, but what is acquired from the 
Latine, which is*y&° } &* tV0V > when as the Latincs by a cor¬ 
rupt word doe call it Bolbocaftanum, or Bulbocaftainum, but 
by a better Nucula terreftrit, as Lobel doth,but Guintcrutsk 
r GeupilM thinke that the word fliould be rather Balanocafta- 
\nen, which is as ftrange as the other, and but formed toge¬ 
ther to fliape it a coat futable to the wearing : ‘Dodontus m 
his former workes tooke it to be Bmittm of Diofcerides ; 
but it feemeth upon better advice, he changed his opinion, 
and maketh no mention thereof in his later, or Pemptades : 
which Lobel alio feemeth to ftumble at, not knowing, as he 
faith in Adverfaria , fol.yi. any other plant that may repre- 
fent Diofcorides his Bunium if this be not it: but the defec¬ 
tion of Bmium in Diofcorides, doth fo much vary from this, 
and hath fo little relemblance, that I wonder judicious 
and learned men fhould fo erre, for if one or two words 
herein doe corrcfpond unto the Bulbocaftanum, all the reft 
contrarieth it quite, for befides that c Diofcorides maketh no 
mention of the roote to be bulbous, or otherwife, which 
was not fit to be omitted,ind giveth an efpeciall knowledge 
of the plantjthere is in this Earth-nut no fquare ftalke,nor of 
a fingers thickneffe, nor in the true coppies,as Lugdunenfis 
noteth, is there any mention of Parfley-like leaves neare the 
rootes, but on the ftalkes, nor are the flowers like Dill, 
which are yellow, nor is the feede fmaller than Henbane,tne 
properties alfo of each, being different. Thus have I fhew- 
ed you that Bolbcajtanon connot be Buninm, but whit Bum - 
urn is, by the judgement of Dalecbampius , 1 fhali fhew you 
a little hereafter among the wild Carrots, c Matthiolus ma¬ 
keth the firft here, to be his firft Oenanthe vnfol.617 .of Bat*, 
hinw edition; Doftor Turner tooke it to be Apios j and fa- 
falpinus calleth it Pancafeolm ,and as Comerarm faith, Gera- 
niumprimuTiofcorid/s^but he faith that the Italians callit'O; 
becaufe the vulgar cate it in ftead of bread and checfc. Lttg- 
dunenjh' calleth it Bulbocafianon grandius, as Cornerarios in 
horto alfo aknowledgeth it, and doth call it Bulbo caftanwn 
Tralliani , but Lugdunenfis by that name underftandeth the leffer fort calling it rhas, becaufe he wohld make aft* 
mina ,which is a quite differing plant from this, as I fhali fhew yoU among the Oenanthes. G efiner odondius yTaber- 
mom arms and others, doegenerally call it Bulbocafiaffum. The other is,as ^ (aid even now,called by Lugdunenfis 
Bulb ocafianum mas Tralliani, zndBulbocaftanum alter urn minoribw folijs & bulbisby Camerarm y Loniccrw un- 
dei ftandeth this plant, which he calleth a fpecics of Ornithogalum. The French Savoyards call it Faverottei , the 
Germans Erdkerften, t and Frdnujf, the Dutch Erdtnoten, and wee Earth-nuts j Earth Chefnuts, Gronndnuts, and 
Kipper nuts* 
The Verities. 
The roote is hot and drie, and fomewhat binding, yet all moderately, but the feede is more in both, yet hath an 
opening propertie to provoke urine: the roote is faid to be good for thole that either (pit or piffe bloud: they that 
ufe to eate of them doe finde them nourifhing as Chefnuts, and no otherwife profitable in any efpeciall refpeft. 
Chap. XII. 
Oenanthe recepta herbariorum. Dropwort, 
Lthough I know that noneofthefe plants deferibed in this Chaprer, is the right Oenanthe o £ 
T) iof cor ides t yet becaufe the common vote of thefe times paffeth lo upon them, and that I could 
not fo well joyne them to the Filipendulas here before fet forth, unto w horn they are in fo me 
fort like in that they were umbellifiers t let ;me place them here to bsginne this fecond divi- 
fion of the umbelliferous plants, which areof fuch asbeare rhinne cut leaves, like Carrots 
or Parfky, and that in the laft Chapter it was fhewed you, that fome did call the Nucula terre - 
firiiy Oenanthe . as well as the ordinary Filipendula. 
1. Oenanthe zsfpij folio major. The mod ordinary great Droppe wort. 
This great Dropwort,hath for roote?,many r, und white and fomewhat long Afphodill like clogs joyned toge¬ 
ther at the toppes, and ending in fmall fibres, from whence rife many greenc winged leaves, made of many parrs, 
cut in to the forme aimoft of Smallagc leaves, bur n uch fmaller, arid from among them two or three ftiffc round 
ftalkes,halfe a yard, or fometimes two foote hiah l eler with .ome fuch leaves as prow below, and at the toppes 
fundry fpokesor umbells of whiteflowers, converted afteiwardes into Eennell-like feede, but lmaller,and of a 
darke whitifh colour. „ „ , r , , ^ 
a Oenanthe Apij folio minor duartsm fpecierum. Two fmaller loTts of the former Droppewort. 
Thefe two forts of fmall Dropworts have their winged leaves very like in she divifions unto the former.but both 
Gggg 3 fmallec 
