Home › Contents › Of Willow-Herbe, or Loose-Strife

Of Willow-Herbe, or Loose-Strife

The Description. 1 THe first kinde of Willow-herbe hath long and narrow leaves of a grayish greene colour, in shape like the Willow or Sallow leaves, standing three or foure one against another at severall distances round about the stalke; which toward the top divideth it selfe into many other branches, on the tops whereof grow tufts of faire yellow floures, consisting of five leaves apiece, without smell: which being past, there commeth forth seed like Coriander. The root is long and slender. 2 This being thought by some to be a bastard kinde, is (as I do esteeme it) of all the rest most goodly and stately plant, having leaves like the greatest Willow or Ozier. The branches come out of the ground in great numbers, growing to the height of six foot, garnished with brave floures of great beauty, consisting of foure leaves apiece, of an orient purple colour, having some threds in the middle of a yellow colour. The cod is long and full of downy matter, which flyeth away with the winde when the cod is opened. 3 The wilde Willow-Herbe hath fraile and very brittle stalkes, slender, commonly about the height of a cubit, and sometimes higher, whereupon do grow sharpe pointed leaves somewhat snipt about the edges, and set together by couples. There come forth at the first long slender cods, wherein is contained small seed, wrapped in a cottony or downy wooll, which is carried away with the winde when the seed is ripe: at the end of which commeth forth a small floure of a purplish colour; whereupon it was called Filius ante Patrem, because the floure doth not appeare untill the cod be filled with his seed. The Place.

The first yellow Lysimachia groweth plentifully in moist Medowes, especially along the Medowes as you goe from Lambeth to Battersey neere London, and in many other places throughout England.

The second groweth in Yorkeshire in a place called the Hooke, neere unto a close called a Cow pasture, from whence I had these plants, which do grow in my Garden very goodly to behold, for the decking up of Houses and Gardens. The third groweth hard by the Thames, as you goe from a place called the Divels Neckerchiefe to Redreffe, neere unto a stile that standeth in your way upon the Thames banke, among the plankes that do hold up the same banke. It groweth also in a ditch side not farre from the place of execution, called Saint Thomas Waterings.

The Names.

Lysimachia, as Dioscorides and Pliny write, tooke his name of a speciall vertue that it hath in appeasing the strife and unrulinesse which falleth out among oxen at the plough, if it be put about their yokes: but it rather retaineth and keepeth the name Lysimachia, of King Lysimachus the Sonne of Agathocles, the first finder out of the nature and vertues of this herbe, as Pliny saith in his 25. book chap. 7. which retaineth the name of him unto this day.

The Vertues.

The smoke of the burned herbe driveth away serpents, and killeth flies and gnats in a house; which Pliny speaketh of in his 23. booke, chap. 8. Snakes, saith he, craull away at the smell of Loos-strife. The same Author affirmeth in his 26. booke, last chap. that it dieth haire yellow, which is not very unlike to be done by reason the floures are yellow.