Of great Foxe-taile grasse.
The description.
The great Foxe-taile grasse hath many threddie rootes like the common Medow grasse. And the stalke riseth immediately from the roote, in fashion like vnto Barley, with two or three leaues or blades like Otes: but is nothing rough in handling like the precedent, but soft and downie, and somewhat hoarie, bearing one eare or tuft on the top and neuer more: fashioned like vnto a foxe taile, whereof it tooke his name. At the approch of winter it dieth, and recouereth it selfe the next yeere by falling of his seede. The lesser Foxe-taile grasse, hath a tough and hard roote, compact of many small strings, yeelding a strawie stalke like the former, though somewhat lesser, with the like top or crest, but of a whitih colour. | | | |---|---| | 1 Gramen Alopecuroides maius. Great Foxe-taile grasse. | 2 Gramen Alopecuroides minus. Small Foxe-taile grasse. | | | | |---|---| | 3 Gramen Alopecurinum maius. Great bastard Foxe-taile grasse. | 4 Gramen Alopecurinum minus. Small bastard Foxe-taile grasse. | 3 Great bastard Foxe-taile grasse hath a strawie stalke or stem, which diuideth it selfe within the ground into shootes or suckers, the which do roote againe vpon the vpper crust of the earth. His leafe is small and grassie, and hath on his top one tuft or spike, or eare of a hard chaffie substance. 4 Small bastard Foxe-taile grasse doth resemble the former, sauing that this kinde doth not cast foorth such barren shootes as the former, and those which he doth cast out, doth beare a tuft for the most part, but smaller than the other, and not so close packed togither.
The place.
These wilde bastard Foxe-taile grasses do grow in the moist furrowes of fertill fields, at the same time that others do.
The names.
They are so called bicause their tops are like vnto a Foxe taile.
The vertues.
They are as vnprofitable for our vse, as the former.
Text in Gerard's own spelling (the long s is printed as s), transcribed by the Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). A chapter may run onto pages not yet transcribed. Gerard wrote within Galenic medicine; nothing here is advice.