brios bronn,^123 perhaps the same as the briose brún,a name for a lameness in
cattle apparently resulting from phosphorus deficiency.
Persicaria hydropiper (Linnaeus) Spach
water pepper
northern temperate zone, Australia; introduced into New Zealand
(Folk credentials questionable) The claim ofPersicaria hydropiper to a place
in the folk medicine repertory rests almost entirely on the assertion of just
one author^124 whose data are unlocalised but appear to be based on first-
hand information. According to this source, ‘country people’ (in Kent?) used
the leaves for toothache; a stimulant plaster made from it also substituted for
mustard poultices, while yet another practice was to lay the leaves on the skin
to remove the blackness of bruises. It is possible, though, that most if not all
these were derived from the learned tradition, in which the equating of this
species with the hudropeperi of Dioscorides led to its being prescribed for a
wide variety of ailments. The same could be said of Borlase’s remark in his
Natural History of Cornwall that ‘arsesmart’ (a widely used name for this plant
in south-western England), when distilled ‘has been found better for gravelly
complaints than a great variety of drugs taken ...to little purpose.’^125
Polygonum aviculare Linnaeus, in the broad sense
knotgrass
Eurasia, North Africa, North America; introduced into South
America, Australasia
There is just one folk record of the use of the common plant Polygonum avic-
ulare: in Somerset to staunch a nosebleed by rubbing it into the nostrils.^126 Its
astringency gave it a reputation among the ancient writers as a styptic, but the
equal availability for such purposes of the more readily obtained and more
easily recognised yarrow (Achillea millefolium) doubtless caused the latter to
be the normal stand-by.
Rumex acetosa Linnaeus
common sorrel, cuckoo sorrel, sour-dock, cow sorrel, red sorrel
Europe, temperate Asia, North America; introduced into New Zealand
There is considerable confusion between Rumex acetosa and wood-sorrel
(Oxalis acetosella) in the folk records, especially in Ireland; but in at least one
instance^127 the two are carefully distinguished by separate names and it would
seem that ‘cuckoo sorrel’ normally denotes R. acetosa (which of the two is
the much more often seen bearing so-called ‘cuckoo spit’, the excretion of
Hemiptera insect species).
Elms to Docks 95