The remedy involved heating the leaves or their stalks and then tying them
round the neck. Records of this have been traced from four counties in the
vicinity of Dublin as well as from Roscommon,^138 Galway^139 and Kilkenny.^140
Such widespread knowledge of one particular application seems indicative
either of a relatively recent origin and spread or of considerable antiquity.
The latter explanation seems more likely in view of the fact that one infor-
mant knew of a special ritual with which the plant had to be gathered for use
for this purpose.^141
Dioscoreaceae
Tamus communis Linnaeus
black bryony
southern and western Europe, south-western Asia, North Africa
In common with its ‘gender pair’, white bryony (Bryonia dioica),Ta mus com-
munis has had a history of being misidentified as, or mischievously substi-
tuted for, the true mandrake plant (Mandragora spp.) on account of its large
taproot and has owed to that mistake a reputation as a powerful aphrodisiac.
Lincolnshire is one county where that belief has been found surviving.^142
More generally, though, black bryony has had a role in folk medicine in its
own right, under the name oxberry. The fresh rhizome, scraped and sliced,
has enjoyed at least a regional popularity (Wiltshire,^143 Worcestershire,^144
Herefordshire,^145 Shropshire^146 ) as an acrid, counter-irritant plaster for
rheumatism and gout, while the juice of the berries, preferably after a soak-
ing in gin or brandy, has been valued in parallel for rubbing on chilblains
(Devon,^147 the Isle of Wight,^148 Wiltshire,^149 Worcestershire^150 ). Both berries
and rhizome have also been used in the Isle of Wight to remove skin dis-
colouring caused by bruises, suntan and the like.^151
In Ireland the plant is restricted to just one small area in the west and is
unlikely to have been utilised there—unless indeed it owes its very presence
to ancient introduction medicinally.
Orchidaceae
Listera ovata (Linnaeus) R. Brown
common twayblade
Europe, Siberia
Listera ovata has featured in a Sussex list of wound cures.^152 It has also been
identified with the dà-dhuilleach,a principal ingredient in salep, a well-
Pondweeds, Grasses, Lilies and Orchids 333