Ladies' Mantle

Descript : It has many leaves rising from the root standing upon long hairy foot-stalks, being almost round, and a little cut on the edges, into eight or ten parts, making it seem like a star, with so many corners and points, and dented round about, of a light green colour, somewhat hard in handling, and as it were folded or plaited at first, and then crumpled in divers places, and a little hairy, as the stalk is also, which rises up among them to the height of two or three feet; and being weak, is not able to stand upright, but bended to the ground, divided at the top into two or three small branches, with small yellowish green heads, and flowers of a whitish colour breaking out of them; which being past, there comes a small yellowish seed like a poppy seed. The root is somewhat long and black, with many strings and fibres thereat.

Place : It grows naturally in many pastures and wood sides in Hertfordshire, Wiltshire, and Kent, and other places of this land.

Time : It flowers in May and June, abides after seedtime green all the Winter.

Government and virtues : Venus claims the herb as her own. Ladies' Mantle is very proper for those wounds that have inflammations, and is very effectual to stay bleeding, vomitings, fluxes of all sorts, bruises by falls or otherwise, and helps ruptures; and such women as have large breasts, causing them to grow less and hard, being both drank and outwardly applied; the distilled water drank for 20 days together helps conception, and to retain the birth; if the women do sometimes also sit in a bath made of the decoction of the herb. It is one of the most singular wound herbs that is, and therefore highly prized and praised by the Germans, who use it in all wounds inward and outward, to drink a decoction thereof, and wash the wounds therewith, or dip tents therein, and put them into the wounds, which wonderfully dries up all humidity of the sores, and abates inflammations therein. It quickly heals all green wounds, not suffering any corruption to remain behind, and cures all old sores, though fistulous and hollow.