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 plant which bringeth foorth blacke Whortes, is base and lowe of a wooddish substance, bringing forth many branches of the length of a foote or somwhat more: the leaues be round & of a darke greene co∣lour, lyke to the leaues of Boxe or Myrtel, the which at the comming of winter do fall away as the leaues of other trees, and at the spring time there come forth agayne new leaues out of the same brāches. The flowers be round and holowe, open before, and grow alongest the branches amongst the leaues. The fruite is round, greene at the first, then red, and at the last when it is ripe, it is blacke and ful of liquer, of a good and pleasant taste. The roote is slender, long, and souple.

Of this sorte there are founde some that beare white Berries when they be rype, howbeit they are but seldome seene.

[ 2] The plant that bringeth foorth red wortes, in his growing and branches is like to that, which beareth the blacke berries or whortes, sauing that y^e leaues be greater and harder, almost lyke the leaues of a great boxe bush, & they abide the winter without falling away or perishing. The flowers be of a Carnation colour, long, and round, and do growe in clusters at the toppe of the branches. The fruite is red, but els not muche vnlyke the other, in taste rough and astrin∣gent, or binding, and not altogither so full of liquer as the blacke Whorte. The roote is of a wooddy substance and long.

[ 3] Amongst these Whortes or Whor∣tel berries we may reckē those which the Germaynes or Almaignes doo call Veenbesien, that is to say, Mar∣rishe or Fenberries, of whiche the stalkes be smal, short, limmer & ten∣der creeping and almost layde flatte vpon the grounde, beset and deckt with smal narrow leaues, fashioned almost lyke to the leaues of y^e commō Thime, but smaller, the beries grow vpon very smal stemmes at the ende or toppe of the litle branches, almost lyke the red Whortes, but lōger and greater, of colour sometimes all red, and sometimes red speckled, in taste somewhat rough and astringent.

[illustration]

Vacinia palustria. Marrish Whortes.