Of Pellitorie of the wall.
The description.
Pellitorie of the wall hath rounde tender stalkes somewhat browne or reddish of colour and somewhat shining: the leaues be rough like to the leaues of Mercurie, nothing snipt about the edges. The flowers be small, growing close to the stemmes, the seede blacke and verie small, couered with a rough huske which hangeth fast vpon garments: the roote somewhat reddish.
The place.
It groweth neere to olde wals in the moist corners of churches and stone buildings, amongst rubbish and such like places.
The time.
It commeth vp in Maie: it seedeth in Iuly and August: the roote onely continueth and is to be found in winter.
The names.
It is commonly called Parietaria, or by a corrupt worde Paritaria, bicause it groweth neere to wals: & for the same cause it is named of diuers Muralis: also Muralium of Pliny and Celsus: of the Græcians ἑλξίνη. There is also another Helxine surnamed Cissampelos: some call it Perdicium, of Partriges which somtimes feed heereof: some Vrceolaris, and Vitraria, bicause it serueth to scoure glasses, pipkens and such like: it is called in high Dutch Tag und nacht: in Spanish Yerua del muro: in English Pellitorie of the wall: in French Parietaire.
The temperature.
Pellitorie of the wall (as Galen saith) hath force to scoure, and is somthing colde and moist.
The vertues.
Pellitorie of the wall boiled and the decoction of it drunken, helpeth such as are vexed with an olde cough; the grauell and stone; & is good against the difficultie of making water, & stopping of the same, not onely inwardly, but also outwardly applied vpon the region of the bladder, in maner of a fomentation or warme bathing, with spunges or double clouts or such like. Dioscorides saith that the iuice tempered with Ceruse or white leade, maketh a good ointment against Saint Anthonies fire and the shingles: & mixed with the cerot of Alcanua or with the male Goates tallowe, it helpeth the gout of the feete; which Plinie also affirmeth in his 22. booke 17. chapter. It is applied saith he, to the paines of the feete with goates suet and waxe of Cyprus: where insteede of waxe of Cyprus there must be put the Cerote of Alcanua. Dioscorides addeth, that the iuice hereof is a remedie for old coughes, and taketh away hot swellings of the Almonds in the throat if it be vsed in a gargarisme or otherwise applied: it mitigateth also the paines in the eares being poured in with oile of roses mixed therewith. It is affirmed that if three ounces of the iuice be drunke, it prouoketh vrine out of hande. The leaues tempered with oile of sweete almonds in maner of a pultus and laide to the pained parts, is a remedie for them that be troubled with the stone and that can hardly make water.
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.