CHEQUER BEDS - PLANT LIST
The Medicinal uses of plants as described by Dr William Turner in A New Herball (3 vols, 1551-1568)
| Name | Turner's English names | Turner's medicinal uses |
|---|---|---|
| Fragaria vesca (Wild strawberry) | Strawbery, Strawberry | Strawberryes quenche thirst, and are good for a cholerike stomach |
| Dianthus caryophyllus (Clove pink) | Clowgelofer, gelover | good agaynst the plage [plague] - the ache of the gowte, and for the bytynge of a madd dogge |
| Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping-jenny) | Two penigrasse, herbe two pence | good for the cough and for them that are shortwinded |
| Alchemilla mollis (Lady's-mantle) | Oure Ladies mantell, Syndow, Sindaw | Sindaw is good for inward burstinges and inward wondes [wounds] |
| Teucrium chaemedrys (Wall germander) | Germander, Englishe triacle | Grene Germander sodden in water, and dronken is good for the coughe |
| Lavendula officinalis (Lavender) | Lavander | The floures of Lavander quilted in a cappe and daylye worne, are good for all diseases of the head |
| Phyllitis scolopendrium (Hart's-tongue fern) | Hartis tonge | The leves of thys herbe dronken with wyne, ar good agaynst the bytynges of serpentes |
| Crambe maritima (Sea-kale) | Se cole | The leves of this herbe layd to, after ye maner of an emplaster, do bynd and close up woundes |
| Ficus carica (Fig) | Figge tree | Figges are wyndye - they provoke a man to stoole and purge the kydnes |
| Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove) | Foxe glove | put betwene the horse sadle and his back, is an excellent remedye against the farcye or fassones (The use of digitalis to treat heart conditions was not discovered until 1785) |
| Prunella vulgaris (Selfheal) | Selfe heale | good to heale grene woundes |
| Thymus vulgaris (Garden Thyme) | Tyme | good for eyes that are dull of syght |
| Viola odorata (Sweet violet) | Violette | they heal ... the inflammation of the liver |
| Calendula officinalis (Pot marigold) | Marigolde | The juice of the herbe - is a present remedy for the toothe ake |
| Papaver rhoeas (Common red poppy) | Wylde popy, Wylde pappy | It will make [a man] slepe |
| Acanthus mollis (Bear's Breech) | Branke ursine, Bear's breech | for burnyng ( e.g. erysipelas, St Anthony's Fire), if it be layd upon the diseased places |
| Aquilegia vulgaris (Columbine) | Columbine | good for the yelow iaundies [jaundice] |
| Papaver somniferum (Opium poppy) | Chesboule, Gardin or Whyte poppi | The brooth [broth] is good to be drunken agaynst to much wakyng and want of slepe |
| Nigella damascena (Love-in-a-mist) | Herbe git | layde unto a mans forhead, releaseth the heade ache |
| Hyssopus officinalis (Hyssop) | Hysop | helpeth the inflammation of the longes. It killeth wormes. |
| Anthemis tinctoria (Yellow chamomile) | Yealowe Cammomyle | chewed, [doth] hele the sores of the mouth |