The herball or Generall historie of plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde of London Master in Chirurgerie very much enlarged and amended by Thomas Iohnson citizen and apothecarye of London

¶ The Description.

1 SMall Sea Grape is not vnlike to hors∣taile: it bringeth forth slender stalks, almost like rushes, set with many lit∣tle ioints, such as those are of the Horse-taile, and diuided into many wings and branches; the tops whereof are sharpe pointed, somewhat hard and pricking: it is without leaues: the floursgrow in clusters out of the ioints, with little stems, they are small and of a whitish green colour: the fruit consisteth of many little pearles, like to the vnripe berries of Raspis, or Hind-berry: when it is ripe it is red with a saffron colour, in taste sweet and pleasant: the seede or kernell is hard, three square, sharpe on euery side, in taste binding: the root is iointed, long, and creeps aslope: the plant it selfe also doth rather lie on the ground than stand vp: it groweth all full of small stalkes and branches, casting themselues all abroad.

2 Carolus Clusius hath set forth another sort of sea Grape, far different from the precedent; it riseth vp to the height of a man, hauing manie branches of a wooddie substance, in form like to Spanish Broome, without any leaues at all: wher∣upon doe grow clusters of floures vpon slender foot-stalks, of a yellowish mossie or herby colour, like those of the Cornell tree: after which come the fruit like vnto the mulberrie, of a reddish co∣lour and sower taste, wherein lieth hid one or two

seeds like those of Millet, blacke without, and white within: the root is hard, tough, and wooddie.

[illustration]

2 Vuamarina maior. Great shrubbie sea Grape.

[illustration]

3 Tragos Matthioli. Bastard Sea Grape.

3 Tragon Matthioli, or rather Tragos improbus, 〈◊〉〈◊〉, which he vnaduisedly called Tragon, is without controuersie nothing else but a kinde of Kali: this plant riseth vp out of the ground with stalks seldome a cubite high, diuided into sundry other grosse, thicke, and writhen branches, set, or armed with many pricking leaues, of the colour and shape of 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and somewhat thicke and fle∣shie: among which come forth such prickley burres, as are to be seen in Tribulus 〈◊〉〈◊〉, as that it is hard for a man to touch any part thereof without pricking of the hands: the floures are of an herbie colour, bringing forth flat seed like vnto Kali: the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is slender, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 vnder the turfe of the earth: the whole plant is full of clammie iuice, not any thing astringent, but somewhat saltish, and of no singular vertue that is yet knowne: wherefore I may conclude, that this cannot be Tragos Dioscoridis, and the rather, for that this Tragon of Matthiolus is an herbe, and not a shrub, as I haue before spoken in Vuamarina, neither beareth it any berries or graines like wheat neither is it pleasant in taste and smell, or any thing astringent, all which are to be found in the right Tragos be∣fore expressed; which (as Dioscorides saith) is without leaues, neither is it thorney as Tragus improbus Matthioli is: this plant I haue found growing in the Isle of Shepey, in the tract leading to the housc of Sir Edward 〈◊〉〈◊〉, called Sherland.