Hyssopus Officinalis. Hyssop.

Description: Natural Order, Labiatae. This plant is perennial, with the lower part of the stem woody, and the upper part of slender and wand-like branches. Two feet high. Leaves opposite, sessile, lance-linear, punctate. Flowers blue-purple, in small clusters upon crowded spikes; calyx tubular, fifteen nerved, two toothed; corolla two-lipped, upper lip erect and obscurely notched, lower lip three-cleft, with the middle lobe largest and two-cleft. Stamens four, diverging, exserted. Native to Europe, cultivated in gardens, now common along roadsides in some parts of America. Flowering in July. The whole plant has a pleasant odor, and contains a volatile oil.

Properties and Uses: This is a diffusive aromatic, stimulating and relaxing, with mild tonic properties. It sustains capillary circulation gently, and also the nervous peripheries. It promotes expectoration, relieves asthmatic coughs, and may be employed in colds with soreness of the chest. It is often employed in gargles for quinsy and ordinary sore throat.

The Physiomedical Dispensatory, 1869, was written by William Cook, M.D.
It was scanned by Paul Bergner at http://medherb.com