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.

I Must also abstract the historie of this out of the Works of the learned and diligent Clusius, who sets it forth in his Exoticks, lib. 1. cap. 17. in the next chapter after Cloues.

I put (saith he) the description of this fruit next after the historie of Cloues, both for the

[illustration]

Amomum quorundam, fortè Garyophyllon Plinij. The Cloue-berry tree.

affinitie of smell it hath with Cloues, as also for another cause, which I will shew hereafter. Iames Garret in the yeare 1601 sent me from London this round fruit, commonly bigger than Pepper cornes, yet some lesse, wrinkled, of a brownish colour, sufficiently fragile; which opened, I found contained a seed round, black, which might be diuided into two parts, of no lesse aro∣maticke taste and smell than the fruit it selfe, and in some sort resembling that of Cloues: it growes in bunches or clusters, as I coniectured by many berries which yet kept their stalks & two or three which stucke to one little stalke: to these were added leaues of one form, but of much dif∣ferent bignes, for some of them were seuen inches long, and three broad; some onely fiue inches long, and two and a half broad; others did not exceed 3 inches in length, and these were not two inches broad; and some a so were much lesse and narrower than these, especially those that were found mixed with the berries, differing according to the place in the boughes or branches which they possest. I obserued none among them which had snipt leaues, but smooth, with many small veines running obliquely from the middle rib to the sides, with their points now narrower, otherwhiles broader, and roundish: they were of a brownish ash colour, of a sufficient acride taste: the branches which were added to the rest were slender, quadran∣gular, couered with a barke of an ash colour, and those were they of a yeares growth; for those that were of an after growth were brownish, and they had yet remaining the prints where the leaues had growne, which for the most part were one against another, and these also were of an acride taste, as well as the leaues, and of no vngratefull smell.

I receiued the same fruit some yeares before, but without the stalks, and with this question pro∣pounded by him which sent it, An Amomum? And certainly the faculties of this fruit are not very much vnlike those which Dioscorides attributes to his Amomum; for it hath an heating astrictiue and drying facultie, and I thinke it may performe those things whereto Dioscorides, Lib. 1. Cap. 14. saith his is good; yet this wanteth some notes which he giues vnto his, as the leaues of Bryonie, &c.

But I more diligently considering this Exoticke fruit, finde some prime notes which do much moue me (for I will ingenuously professe what I thinke) to iudge it the Garyophyllon of Pliny; for he, Hist. Nat. lib. 12. cap. 7. after he hath treated of Pepper addes these words: [There is besides in the Indies a thing like to the Pepper corne, which is called Garyophyllon, but more great and fragil: they affirme it growes in an Indian groue; it is brought ouer for the smels sake.] Though this de∣scription be briefe and succinct, neither containes any faculties of the fruit it selfe, yet it hath manifest notes, which, compared with those which the fruit I here giue you possesse, you shal find them very like; as comparing them to Pepper cornes, yet bigger and more fragile, as for the most part these berries are: their smell is also very pleasing, and comming very neere to that of Cloues, and for the smells sake only they were brought ouer in Plinies time. I found, this fruit being chew∣ed made the breath to smell well: and it is credible, that it would be good for many other purpo∣ses, if triall were made.