Synonym: Florentine Orris.

Habitat: Cultivated in Northern Italy and Morocco.

Features: The white Florentine root, which is preferred to other varieties, is irregular in shape and shows marks where the rootlets branched before preparation for export. Verona Orris root tapers more gradually than that from Florence, and appears more compressed. The Moroccan root is noticeable for the dirty white cortex which remains on the root. Orris gives off a violet-like scent.

Part used : Root.

Large quantities of the finely pulverised root are used in the preparation of toilet and dusting powders, dentifrices and cachous, for which purposes the acceptable fragrancy and other appropriate qualities make Orris root eminently suitable. Toilet recipes are given in another section of this book.

Orris is not used for purely medicinal purposes.

OX-EYE DAISY.

Chrysanthemum leucanthemum. N.O. Compositae.

Synonym: Field Daisy, Great Ox-Eye, Horsegowan, Marguerite, Moon Daisy.

Habitat: Fields, especially near the sea.

Features: Stem from one to two feet, smooth, hard, angular, slightly branched. Leaves from lower part stalked, spatulate, serrate ; remainder sessile, serrate, oblong. Flowers large, white, daisy-like, each on its own long flower stalk.

Part used: Herb.

Action: Antispasmodic, tonic.

To some extent in whooping cough and asthma. The tonic effect is similar to that of Chamomile, but the greater popularity of the latter is probably justified. A decoction of 1 ounce to 1 pint (reduced from 1 1/2 pints) is taken in wineglass doses, and may also be used externally for wounds and ulcers, and as an injection in leucorrhea, Large internal doses induce vomiting.

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PARSLEY PIERT.

Alchemilla arvensis. N.O. Rosaceae.

Synonym : Parsley Breakstone.

Habitat: Hedgerows, in better soils.

Features : Up to six inches in height, the whole plant rather hairy. Leaves small, trifid higher up the stem, palmate lower down. Axillary tufts of small, greenish flowers.

Part used : Herb.

Action: Diuretic, demulcent.

A widely-used diuretic acting directly on the parts. The 1 ounce to 1 pint infusion may be given in teacupful doses thrice daily in all kidney and bladder irregularities.

PELLITORY-OF-THE-WALL.

Parietaria officinalis. N.O. Urticaceae.

Habitat: Old walls.

Features: Up to two feet high, stem reddish, brittle, angular, rather hairy. Leaves alternate, stalked, lanceolate, edges smooth, one to two inches long by half an inch to one inch broad. Numerous pink flowers (June and July), small, axillar.

Part used: Herb.

Action: Diuretic, laxative.

Gravel, suppression of urine, and other bladder and kidney disorders. Frequently prescribed in combination with Wild Carrot and Parsley Piert. Wineglass doses of the infusion of 1 ounce to 1 pint boiling water.

PENNYROYAL.

Mentha pulegium. N.O. Labiateae.

Synonym : European Pennyroyal.

Habitat: Not common as a wild plant, except on damp heaths and commons. Frequently seen in cottage gardens. Indigenous to Britain and Europe.

Features: This member of the mint family grows up to twelve inches high, the stem

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being bluntly quadrangular. The one to one and a half inch long, egg-shaped leaves are opposite, on short stalks ; they are slightly serrate and nearly smooth. Purple flowers appear in August. The odour is rather pungent, mint-like but characteristic.

Part used : The whole herb.

Action: Carminative, emmenagogue, diaphoretic and stimulant.

An infusion of 1 ounce to 1 pint of boiling water, taken warm in teacupful doses frequently repeated, is helpful in hysteria, flatulence and sickness. For children's ailments such as feverish colds, disordered stomach and measles, Pennyroyal infusion may be given in appropriate doses with confidence. Its diaphoretic and stimulant action recommends it for chills and incipient fevers, and the infusion works as an emmenagogue when such ailments retard and obstruct menstruation. The oil of Pennyroyal is a first-rate protection against the bites of mosquitoes, gnats, and similar winged pests. The herb is used to some extent as a flavouring. Although not so popular as other herbs for this purpose, the mint-like flavour and carminative virtues of Pennyroyal should recommend it to cooks as adding to both palatability and digestibility of various dishes.

American or Mock Pennyroyal are the names given to the dried leaves and flowering tops of Hedeoma pulegioides. This plant, although quite different in appearance from the European Pennyroyal, has similar medicinal values.

PEONY.

Paeonia officinalis. N.O. Ranunculaceae.

Synonym: Common Peony, Piney.

Habitat: Cultivated in gardens.

Features : Stem two feet high, thick, smooth, branched leaves, pinnate or lobed. Flowers (May) large, red, single, terminal. Transverse section of root is starchy, medullary rays tinged purple. Taste sweet, becoming bitter.

Part used: Root.

Action: Tonic, antispasmodic.

Convulsive and spasmodic nervous troubles as chorea and epilepsy. Infusion of 1 ounce powdered root to 1 pint boiling water in wineglass

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doses three or four times daily.

PEPPERMINT.

Mentha piperita. N.O. Labiateae.

Synonym: Balm Mint, Brandy Mint.

Habitat: Damp places by water courses. Largely cultivated, especially in the U.S.A., for its oil, which is probably the most used of all the volatile oils. Features : Stem quadrangular, purplish, reaching three or four feet high. Leaves stalked, serrate, very slightly hairy, about two and a half inches by one inch.

Characteristic taste and smell.

Part used: Herb.

Action: Carminative, stomachic, stimulant.

In flatulence, colic and nausea. Usually combined with other remedies when a complete stomachic is needed. Particularly suitable for children. Dose, wineglassful of ounce to pint infusion.

PERIWINKLE.

Vinca major. N.O. Apocynaceae.

Synonym: Greater Periwinkle.

Habitat: Woods and shady banks.

Features: About a foot high, the stem is smooth and cylindrical, with the shiny egg- to-lance-shaped leaves growing opposite at intervals of two to three inches ; the larger lower leave's are one and a half to three inches long by one to two inches broad, all being entire at the edges. The bright, blue-purple, rotate flowers bloom as large as a florin. The taste is slightly bitter and acrid, and there is no smell.

Part used: The herb.

Action: Astringent and tonic.

The infusion of 1 ounce to 1 pint is useful in internal hemorrhages and diarrhea, as a gargle for inflammatory conditions of the throat, and as an injection for menorrhagia and leucorrhea.

Periwinkle has been employed for many years in the treatment of

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