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Hound's Tongue

Description. The great ordinary hound's tongue hath many long and somewhat narrow, soft hairy, darkish green leaves, from amongst which riseth up a rough hairy stalk about two feet high, with some smaller leaves thereon, and branched at the tops into divers parts, with a small leaf at the foot of every branch, which is somewhat long, with many flowers set along the same, which branch is crooked or turned inwards before it flowereth and openeth by degrees as the flowers doth blow, which consists of small purplish red leaves of a dead colour rising out of the husks wherein they stand, with some threads in the middle. It hath sometimes a white flower. After the flowers are past, there cometh rough flat seed, with a small pointle in the middle, easily cleaving to any garment that it toucheth, and not so easily pulled off again. The root is black, thick, and long, hard to break, and full of clammy juice, smelling somewhat strong, of an evil scent, as the leaves also do. Place. It groweth it the most places of this land, in waste grounds, and untilled places, by highway-sides, lanes, and hedge-sides. Time. It flowereth about May or June, and the seed is ripe shortly after. Government and virtues. It is a plant under the dominion of Mercury. The root is very effectually used in pills, as well as the decoction, or otherwise, to stay all sharp and thin defluctions of rheum from the head into the eyes, or nose, or upon the stomach or lungs, as also for coughs and shortness of breath. The leaves boiled in wine (saith Dioscorides, but others do rather appoint it to be made with water, and do add thereto oil and salt) molifieth or openeth the belly downwards. It also helpeth to cure the biting of a mad dog, some of the leaves being also applied to the wound: The leaves bruised, or the juice of them boiled in hog's lard; and applied, helpeth the falling away of the hair, which cometh of hot and sharp humour; as also for any place that is scalded or burnt: the leaves bruised and laid to any green wound doth heal it up quickly: the root baked under the embers, wrapped in paste or wet paper, or in wet double cloth, and therefore a suppository made' and put into or applied to the fundament, doth very effectually help the painful piles or haemorrhoids. The distilled water of the herbs and roots is very good to all the purposes aforesaid, to be used as well inwardly to drink, as outwardly to wash any sore place, for it healeth all manner of wounds and punctures, and those foul ulcers that arise from the French pox. Mizaldus adds that the leaves laid under the feet, will keep the dogs from barking at you. It is called hound's-tongue, because it ties the tongues of hounds; whether true, or not, I never tried, yet I cured the biting of a mad dog with this only medicine.