Good King Henry.
Bonus Henricus.
A common wild plant, called also by some English mercury, by way of distinction from the other, which is called French mercury, and has been described already. This grows a foot high; the stalk is round and thick, but rarely stands quite upright; it is greenish and purplish, and is covered with a kind of grey powder unctuous to the touch. The leaves are large, broad, and of the shape of an arrow-head, they stand on long stalks, and are of a pale green above, and greyish underneath, being there covered with this grey powder. The flowers are inconsiderable, and are of a greenish yellow, and they stand in long spikes at the tops of the branches; the plant is common in farm yards.
The young shoots are eaten as spinage, the juice of the whole plant works gently, and well by urine; and the dried herb is used in decoctions for glisters.
