Description. The roots of this are long and slender, and furnished with many strings; the leaves are long and narrow, of a pale green; and also the stalk, which is a yard high. It is not much branched, and at top grow the flowers in a spiky order; they are small and yellow, and the seed-vessels resemble pea-pods, only they are angular. The seed is small and brown, and the whole plant very much resembles hedge-mustard.
Place. It grows upon rotten moist grounds, particularly in Derbyshire.
Time. It flowers in May and June.
Government and virtues. It is under the dominion of Mars. The whole plant has a hot taste, and so have the seeds, which are good in rheumatic complaints, and in obstructions of the viscera, and in scorbutic disorders; but they are not now sufficiently regarded in the practice of physic. A poultice of the root resolves and disperses hard tumours in any part of the body. A pound of the root, boiled in a sufficient quantity of water, is an excellent purge for horned cattle. In short, the active virtues of this plant are such as entitle it to a much greater share of attention than is commonly bestowed upon it. Small doses of the juice given with white wine, promote the menses, and hasten delivery; and in larger doses it is an excellent medicine in the jaundice, dropsy, and other complaints of a like nature. Made into a syrup with honey, and a small quantity of vinegar, it is beneficial in asthmatic complaints. It likewise kills worms in the stomach and intestines; and is good in hysteric cases, but for this purpose it must be given in very small quantities, and the use of it continued for some time.