Name. Called also bruise-wort.
Description. Soapwort is a species of lychnis, having many creeping roots, arising from a thick woody head; it sends forth reddish stalks, about a foot high, full of knots, which are encompassed by the broad footstalks of the leaves; these are smooth, of a pale green colour, broad and sharp pointed, about two inches long, having three pretty high veins on their back. The flowers grow on the tops of the stalks, being large, of a pale purple colour, each made of five large round pointed leaves, set in a smooth long calyx; the seed is small and round, growing in long roundish seed-vessels.
Place. It grows in watery places, and near rivers.
Time. It flowers in June.
Government and virtues. Venus owns this plant. The whole plant is bitter. Bruished and agitated with water, it raises a lather like soap, which easily washes greasy spots out of cloaths: a decoction of it, applied externally, cures the itch. The Germans make use of it, instead of sarsaparilla, for, the cure of venereal disorders. In fact it cures virulent gonorras, by giving the inspissated juice of it to the amount of half an ounce daily. It is accounted opening and attenuating, and somewhat sudorific, and by some commended against hard tumours and whitlows, but it is seldom used.