Tansy.

Botanical name: 

Plate 47. Tanacetum.

A common plant in our gardens. It is a yard high: the stalks are round, firm, upright, and of a pale green; the leaves are large, oblong, broad, and very beautifully formed; they are each composed of several pairs of smaller, set on each side of a common rib, with an odd leaf at the end. These are narrow, long, pointed, and serrated at the edges. The flowers stand in large clusters at the tops of the stalks, and they are roundish, yellow, and naked. The root is a cluster of large creeping fibres. The whole plant has a strong smell.

The leaves are to be used fresh gathered; a strong infusion of them opens obstructions; it works powerfully by urine, and gently promotes the menses. The flowers dried, powdered, and mixed with treacle, are a common medicine for worms, and they visibly destroy them.


The Family Herbal, 1812, was written by John Hill.