CULPEPER'S COMPLETE HERBAL

SWEET WOODRUFFE

Description. This has a spreading fibrous root, with a square stock, upright, not much branched, and eight inches high; it is of a pale green, and of a tender substance. The leaves, like the former, are placed at the joints in a stellated manner, but more considerable in the number together, and they are broader and larger; they are sharp pointed, smooth, and of a dark green. The flowers are small and white, but a variety is sometimes found with pale blue flowers. The seeds are small and round.

Virtues. The Woodruffe is accounted nourishing and restorative, and good for weakly consumptive people; it opens obstructions of the liver and spleen, and is said to be a provocative to venery.