A nievve herball, or historie of plantes wherin is contayned the vvhole discourse and perfect description of all sortes of herbes and plantes: their diuers [and] sundry kindes: their straunge figures, fashions, and shapes: their names, natures, operations, and vertues: and that not onely of those whiche are here growyng in this our countrie of Englande, but of all others also of forrayne realmes, commonly vsed in physicke. First set foorth in the Doutche or Almaigne tongue, by that learned D. Rembert Dodoens, physition to the Emperour: and nowe first translated out of French into English, by Henry Lyte Esquyer.

❀ The Description.

[ 1] THe male garden Mercury, or the French Mercury, hath tender stalkes, ful of ioyntes & branches, vpon the which groweth blackish leaues, somwhat long almost like the leaues of Parietory, growing out from the ioynts, frō whence also, betwixt the leaues and the stem there cōmeth forth two little hea∣rie bullets, ioyned togither vpon one stem, eche one conteyning in it selfe a small round seede. The roote is tender and full of hearie strings.

[ 2] The female is like to the male, in stalkes, leaues, and growing, and diffe∣reth but onely in the floures and seede, for a great quantitie more of floures and seede, do grow thicke togither like to a small cluster of grapes, at the first bea∣ring a white floure, and afterwarde the seede, the whiche for the most parte, is lost before it be ripe.

[ 3.4] The wilde Mercury is somewhat like to the garden Mercury, sauing y^t his stalke is tenderer & smaller, and not aboue a span long, without any branches,

the leaues be greater and standing farder a sunder one frō an other. The seede of the male, is like to the seede of the male garden Mercury, and the seede of the female, is like the seede of the female garden Mercury. The roote is with hearie strings, like the roote of the garden Mercuries.

[illustration]

Mercurialis mas. Phyllon Theophrasti. French Mercury.

[illustration]

Mercurialis foemina. Mercury female.

[ 5] There is yet an other herbe founde called Noli me tangere, the whiche also is reduced and brought vnder the kindes of Mercury. It hath tender rounde knobbed stalkes, with many hollow wings, and large leaues, like to the Mer∣cury in stalke and leaues, but much higher and greater, the floures hang by small stemmes, they are yellow, broade, and hollow before, but narrow behind, and croking like a tayle, like the floures of Larkes spurre, after the whiche there commeth foorth small long round huskes, the whiche do open of them selues, and the seede being ripe, it spurteth and skippeth away, as soone as it is touched.

[ 6] One may well describe and place, next the Mercuries (but especially them of the garden) the herbe whiche is called Phyllon, bycause that some do thinke that Phyllon and Mercury are but one herbe, but by this treatice they may know that they be diuers herbes. Now therfore there be two sortes of Phyl∣lon (as Crateuas writeth) the Male and the Female. It hath three or foure stalkes, or more, the leaues be somewhat long and broade, something like the leaues of the Olyue tree, but somewhat larger and shorter. All the herbe his stalkes and leaues, is couered with a fine softe white wool or Cotton. The seede of the female Phyllon, groweth in fasshion like to the seede of the female

Mercurie: and the seede of the male groweth like to the male Mercurie.

[illustration]

Cynocrambe. Wilde Mercury.

[illustration]

Phyllon Thelygonon. Children Mercury.