184 Conopodium majus
Conopodium majus (Gouan) Loret
pignut
south-western and Atlantic Europe
Well-known for its nut-like roots,Conopodium majus has been employed in
the Isle of Man as a diuretic.^64
In Ireland the plant has been valued in Donegal for cleansing the blood.^65
A tea substitute has been made from it in Fermanagh, but whether that was
a medicinal use in unclear.^66
Pimpinella saxifraga Linnaeus
burnet-saxifrage
Europe;introduced into North America
Although the acrid root ofPimpinella saxifraga once had the reputation,
when chewed, of promoting the flow of saliva, causing it to be used for
toothache and as a gargle, while its astringency made it popular for cleansing
the skin of freckles, one assertion that these were long-established practices
of ‘country people’^67 (in England) is left no less ambiguous in other sources.^68
The only specific, allegedly folk record traced is from Aberdeenshire, where
James Robertson in 1768 was told it was a cure for indigestion pains.^69 Most
probably this was a legacy of learned medicine.
Sium latifolium Linnaeus
greater water-parsnip
temperate Europe
(Name confusion) ‘Water parsnip’ has been referred to Sium latifolium in
one Irish list,^70 but clearly in error for hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe
crocata), for which that has been in use as an alternative name.
Crithmum maritimum Linnaeus
rock samphire
Atlantic and southern Europe, Black Sea, North Africa, Macaronesia
In Cornwall Crithmum maritimum was once ‘thought to help digestion’ when
pickled.^71
Oenanthe fistulosa Linnaeus
tubular water-dropwort
Europe, south-western Asia, north-western Africa
An infusion of the plant known to the informant as ‘water fennel’ has been
recorded from Wicklow as a treatment for rheumatism.^72 That strictly speak-
ing is the book name of the related species Oenanthe fluviatilis (Babington)