Description. There are several species of the honey-worts, consisting of the great, small, and rough, as the greater yellow and red, the greater yellow or purple, and the smaller yellow and white. Of the flowers of all, the bees are remarkably fond. The greater honey-wort grows upon a thick green stock to a moderate height, having many great, deep, pointed green leaves, placed one above another: towards the top of each stalk come umbels of very sweet flowers, thick set, and rising up spiral or crested; mostly of a bright yellow colour, though some are red, others purple, and some perfectly white.
Place. They dont grow wild in England, but are planted and cherished in the gardens of the curious.
Time. They spring up in April, and flower from the latter end of May to August, but perish in the winter.
Government and virtues. They are under Mercury, and are of a temperate quality between cold and hot, but rather inclining to the cold, and are somewhat astringent. They stop bleeding at the mouth and nose, immoderate fluxes of the belly, and women's courses. The juice of the herb, with a little saffron dissolved in it, is an excellent remedy for weak, watery, or blear eyes, and is used to heal foul ulcers, after they have been cleansed particularly in tender parts of the body. Some people use it instead of bugloss and borage, in all cases where those herbs are recommended.