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 THe first Tragagantha or Goats-thorne hath many branchie boughes and twigs, slender and pliant, so spred abroad vpon euerie side, that one plant doth sometimes occupie a great space or roome in compasse: the leaues are small, and in shape like Lentill leaues, whitish, and somewhat mossie or hairy, set in rowes one opposite against another: the floure is like the blos∣some of the Lentill, but much lesser, and of a whitish colour, and sometimes marked with purple lines or streaks: the seed is inclosed in small cods or husks, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 like vnto the wilde Lotus or hor∣ned Trefoile: the whole plant on euery side is set full of sharpe prickely thornes, hard, white, and strong: the roots run vnder the ground like Liquorice roots, yellow within, and blacke without, tough, limmer, and hard to breake; which being wounded in sundry places with some iron toole, and laid in the Sun at the highest and hottest time of Sommer, issueth forth a certain liquor, which being hardned by the Sun, is that gum which is called in shops Tragacantha: and of some, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 barbarously Dragagant.

[illustration]

1 Tragacantha, siue spina Hirci. Goats Thorne.

[illustration]

2 Spina 〈◊〉〈◊〉 minor. Small Goats Thorne.

2 The second kinde of Tragacantha is a low and thicke shrub, hauing many shoots growing from one turfe: of a white or grayish colour, about a cubit high, stiffe and wooddy: the leaues are like the former, and garded with most stiffe pricks not very safely to be touched: among the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 leaues come forth many floures in small tufts like Genistella, but that they are white: the cods

are many, straight and thorny like Genistella, wherein are many small white and three cornered seeds as big as mustard seed. ‡ This differs from the former in that it is smaller, and loseth the leaues euery Winter, when as the former keepes on the leaues vntill new ones come in the Spring. The middle rib of the winged leaues ends in a pricke, which by the falling of the leaues becommeth a long and naked thorne. I haue giuen you a more accurate figure hereof out of Clusius, wherein the leaues, floures, cods, and seeds are all expressed apart. ‡

3 The Grecians haue called this plant 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because it is good for the sinewes: it should seeme it tooke the name Potcrion, of Potrix, because it loueth a watry or fenny soile: it hath small branches, and leaues of 〈◊〉〈◊〉, growing naturally in the tract of Piedmont in Italy: it sprea∣deth abroad like a shrub: the barke or rinde is blackish, and dry without great moisture, very much writhed or wrinkled in and out as that of Nepa or Corruda: the sharpe pricks stand not in order as Tragacantha, but confusedly, and are finer and three times lesser than those of Tragacantha, growing much after the manner of 〈◊〉〈◊〉: but the particular leaues are greene aboue, and white below, shaped somewhat like Burnet: the seed is small and red, like vnto Sumach, but lesser.

[illustration]

‡ 〈◊〉〈◊〉 minoris icon accuratior. A better figure of the Goats-thorne.

[illustration]

† 1.1 3 Poterion Lob. siue Pimpinella spinosa Camer. Burnet Goats-thorne.

Notes

• † 1.1

  The figure which was in the third place was of the plant described in the second which 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 made their 〈◊〉〈◊〉, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 not with the description which was taken out of the 〈◊〉〈◊〉.