Culpeper's Complete herbal: to which is now added, upwards of one hundred additional herbs, with a display of their medicinal and occult qualities: ...: to which are now first annexed his English physician enlarged, and Key to physic

About this book

Nicholas Culpeper’s expanded medical guide describes herbs, their supposed medicinal and occult properties, and ways to prepare them, for readers seeking practical knowledge of physic. Among its plant entries, tormentil is identified by its low, spreading stems, yellow flowers, and leaves that commonly divide into seven parts. Several recipes prescribe herbs for childbirth and menstrual complaints, reflecting the medical assumptions of Culpeper’s time rather than advice to follow today. When he comments on a syrup set out in a formal recipe, his curt dismissal makes clear that he does not accept every remedy uncritically.