PHYTOGNOMONICA

...the dog's tongue (cynoglossum), the bird's tongue (orneoglossum), and others that take their names from the shapes of tongues. The teeth of serpents are mirrored by thorny herbs, as we have said. The neck of the diver-bird is seen in the rough bindweed (smilax aspera); the testicles of dogs in the dog-orchid (cynosorchis); the penis of the donkey in the lily original: "asini veretrum lilium," likely referring to the shape of the lily's spadix or reproductive organs; the tail of scorpions in the flowers of the heliotrope; the tail of the stingray fish (or the trigonus) in the parsnip root; the tail of the horse in the horsetail (equisetum); the fox in the foxtail grass (alopecuros); the lion’s foot in the leontopodion known today as Edelweiss; and the hare in the hare’s-foot clover (lagopus). Goosegrass (Aparine) imitates the conception of vipers; the citron, the strawberry tree, and the juniper reflect the superfetations the ability to conceive a second litter while already pregnant of the hare, whose virtues are shared, as will be related more extensively in the fourth volume.

PLANTS REVEAL THE DISEASES THEY CURE BY THE SIMILARITY OF THEIR PARTS TO HUMANS

Chapter XIV

Decorative initial R within a square border featuring foliage and a bird.
PLANTS also correspond by the similarities of their parts to human diseases—so much so, in fact, that it can be reasonably conjectured that they are able to assist in that disease. This occurs in two ways: either by simply figuring the disease itself, or by the fact that the plant can assist an afflicted human through the same types of "sicknesses" by which the plants themselves are troubled. To carry this out, the parts of plants must be examined with diligent inspection: the root, the trunk, the leaf, the flower, the fruit, and the seed, to see if they reveal diseases by some parity. Examples follow. Plants that release a wine-like juice when pressed, and are of a faded color, strike the head with drunkenness—such as the mandrake (onothera), sowbread (cyclaminus), and mandragora. Conversely, those that pour out a cheerful, purple juice turn away drunkenness, such as the rose, iris, myrtle, and violet. Spotted plants abolish spots of the face—such as the cuckoopint (arum), buttercup (ranunculus), and water-pepper (persicaria), which directly resemble spots. Scaly plants cure scales referring to skin conditions like psoriasis or scabs, such as scabious, devil's-bit, and the chameleon thistle. All perforated plants are wound-healers, such as St. John's Wort (hypericon) and the species of gentian called "cruciata" crosswort gentian. Sticky plants have extraordinary power for wound ointments, such as greater comfrey (consolida maior), mistletoe, and holly. Square and three-sided stems remove quartan and tertian fevers malarial fevers that recur every three or four days. Animals that wander by night are effective for dull eyesight and night-blindness, such as the goat, the dog, and the owl. Those whose eyes regrow after being pierced—such as the swallow, the wood-pigeon, and the lizard—provide, in our opinion, no better remedy for the wounds and scars of the eyes. Seeds of stony hardness, such as the stone-seed (lithospermon) and Job's tears, are never praised enough for driving out kidney stones. Figwort (scrophularia), which teems with tubercles and nipple-like heads, and the lesser arum, soothe the tonsils and hemorrhoids. Even the defects of trees benefit the diseases of men. Long-lived animals and plants equally bestow life, such as the olive, the palm, the pine, the raven, the crow, and the serpent. Conversely, those born from rot are harmful to life. Fat things are effective for fattening: the olive, the pine, the nut, the sow, the kid, and the lizard. For inducing thinness, all things that are themselves thin are used: the ash tree, gum ammoniac (cancamum), the hare, and the wolf-fish. For gangrene, the chickpea is used; for worms, the laurel, lupine, and chickpea. Those things which grow upon branches and foliage against the order of nature—such as the agaric fungus—heal the overgrowing parts of human limbs. Those that sustain cracks in their trunks—the olive, the elm, and resin-bearing trees—are found by the most certain experience to be most useful for scars and wounds. Those that shed their bark—the vine and resin-bearing trees—are for flaying the skin and for defects of scales. Gummy plants exude an excellent medicine for "gums" likely referring to gum-like swellings or sores: the plum and the peach. Exuding and weeping plants are effective for tears and sweats: frankincense, myrrh, and greater things which we promise to complete in the fifth book.

THAT WE CAN OBTAIN THE POWERS OF PLANTS FROM THE SIMILARITY OF THEIR ACTIONS

Chapter XV

Decorative initial N within a square border featuring a landscape with a tower in the background.
NOT only do they emulate diseases by their appearance, but they also reflect the actions of humans and other animals, from which diligent hunters of hidden things can conjecture much. We call the "actions" of plants their manner of being born, flowering, conceiving, and proliferating (lest I leave this as a matter of controversy for the philosophers), as well as considering the timing and number...