Radish: Common

The English Physician, by Nicholas Culpeper

Culpeper’s Complete Herbal and English Physician, published in 1814




Description. The root of this radish has a reddish skin on the upper part. The leaves are large, rough, and hairy, pretty much cut in on the edges. The stalks grow to be three or four feet high, much branched, having several four-leaved white flowers, with a reddish spot on each leaf, which are succeeded by pretty large, light, spungy seed-vessels, including oval, reddish brown seed, as big again as rape-seed.

Place. It is planted in gardens.

Time. It flowers in May.

Government and virtues. They are plants of Mars, and are opening, attenuating, and antiscorbutic; they are much eaten in the spring, but afford little nourishment, and are very windy; they provoke urine, and are good for the stone and gravel. They are but seldom used in the shops. The juice of radish root, newly expressed, with the addition of a little white wine, is a notable remedy for the gravel I scarcely any thing operates more speedily by urine, or brings a way sabulous concretions more effectually. The roots eaten plentifully sweeten the blood and juices, and are good against the scurvy.