I'HE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
93 
garden, inasmuch as the latter are all tender annuals, while 
the bryony springs up year after year from a continually en¬ 
larging root-stock. Syme says of it —“ The name of this 
genus of plant appears to have reference to the vigorous 
and active growth of its annual stems, which proceed from 
the perennial root, and adhere to other shrubs with their 
tendrils. The Greek word [3pvn) ( bryo ), I sprout up, or ger¬ 
minate, is the origin of the generic name of the plant.” 
This climbing vine -like plant is peculiarly handsome in our 
hedgerows, but woe to the hedge in which it takes root, as its 
rampant growth soon overpowers the hedgerow plants; and it 
is most difficult to eradicate, as its root-stock penetrates so 
deeply, and, if got at, a portion left behind will re-establish 
the enemy in a short time. Probably the best way of at 
least, keeping it under is to destroy the tender shoots as soon 
as they appear, an operation which would want to be constantly 
repeated. 
It is curious to reflect that formerly the plant was much 
rarer than it is getting to be at present, the reason being 
that its root was eagerly sought after for use in rustic medi¬ 
cine. It was erroneously called mandrake root, which title 
properly belongs to a species of Solanacece; but as themandrake 
has obtained a celebrated reputation, this mandragora had a 
root so forked as to bear some distant resemblance to the 
body and limbs of a man, which afforded a signature to re¬ 
commend its use in many human maladies. Our bryony has 
a large thick root sometimes forked, or if not it was cut 
into a rude representation of the “human form divine,” and 
so sold by the herbalists for a considerable sum of money. 
Gerarde says of it—“ The queen’s chief surgeon, Mr. 
William Godoeons, a very curious and learned gentleman, 
showed me a root hereof that waied half an hundred weight, 
and of the bignes of a child a year old.” The following 
are quoted as some of its properties and virtues from * Eng¬ 
lish Botany,” probably from the pen of Dr. Lankester:— 
“ In its root is found a somewhat milky juice, very nauseous 
and bitter to the taste. It is of a violently purgative and 
cathartic nature, and has been used in medicine, but is now 
seldom employed by regular practitioners. It was formerly 
given in dropsy and other complaints, and is of so acrid a 
character, that if applied to the skin it produces redness and 
even blisters. Like other plants of like nature, it has found 
favour as a cataplasm in the same way as we now apply 
mustard poultices, and is extolled as a remedy for rheumatism, 
sciatica, &c. It seems to have been a favourite medicine with 
the old herbalists, and was prescribed by Galen, Dioscorides, 
