_Government and virtues._] Saturn seems to me to own the herb, and yet some hold the Sun; out of doubt ’tis Saturn. The juice of the common kind of Knotgrass is most effectual to stay bleeding of the mouth, being drank in steeled or red wine; and the bleeding at the nose, to be applied to the forehead or temples, or to be squirted up into the nostrils. It is no less effectual to cool and temper the heat of the blood and stomach, and to stay any flux of the blood and humours, as lasks, bloody-flux, women’s courses, and running of the reins. It is singularly good to provoke urine, help the stranguary, and allays the heat that comes thereby; and is powerful by urine to expel the gravel or stone in the kidneys and bladder, a dram of the powder of the herb being taken in wine for many days together. Being boiled in wine and drank, it is profitable to those that are stung or bitten by venemous creatures, and very effectual to stay all defluxions of rheumatic humours upon the stomach, and kills worms in the belly or stomach, quiets inward pains that arise from the heat, sharpness and corruption of blood and choler. The distilled water hereof taken by itself or with the powder of the herb or seed, is very effectual to all the purposes aforesaid, and is accounted one of the most sovereign remedies to cool all manner of inflammations, breaking out through heat, hot swellings and imposthumes, gangrene and fistulous cankers, or foul filthy ulcers, being applied or put into them; but especially for all sorts of ulcers and sores happening in the privy parts of men and women. It helps all fresh and green wounds, and speedily heals them. The juice dropped into the ears, cleanses them being foul, and having running matter in them.
It is very prevalent for the premises; as also for broken joints and ruptures.
_Descript._] IT has many leaves rising from the root standing upon long hairy foot-stalks, being almost round, and a little cut on the edges, into eight or ten parts, making it seem like a star, with so many corners and points, and dented round about, of a light green colour, somewhat hard in handling, and as it were folded or plaited at first, and then crumpled in divers places, and a little hairy, as the stalk is also, which rises up among them to the height of two or three feet; and being weak, is not able to stand upright, but bended to the ground, divided at the top into two or three small branches, with small yellowish green heads, and flowers of a whitish colour breaking out of them; which being past, there comes a small yellowish seed like a poppy seed: The root is somewhat long and black, with many strings and fibres thereat.