Flower de Luce.
Flower de Luce.
Iris.
A common flower in our gardens. The plant grows three feet high. The leaves are a foot and a half long, narrow, flat, and in all respects like the leaves of flags, and of a bluish green. The stalks are round, or a little flatted; thick, firm, upright, and of a greener colour. The flowers are large, and of a deep blue. The root spreads about the surface, and is thick and of a brownish colour, and marked with rings.
The juice of the fresh roots of this plant bruised with white wine is a strong purge: it will sometimes also vomit; but that is not hurtful; it is a cure for dropsies. Gordon, an old physic writer, says if a dropsy can be cured by the hand of man, this root will effect it. I have found it true in practice.
Florentine Flower de Luce.
Iris Florentina.
A plant kept also in our gardens, but not so frequently as the former; it scarce differs in any thing from the common flower de luce, except that the flowers are white. The root spreads in the same manner, and the leaves are flaggy. The stalk is two feet or more in height, and the flower are as large as that of the blue kind, and perfectly of the same form.
The root of this kind, when dried, is fragrant. The druggists keep it. It is good against disorders of the lungs, coughs, hoarseness, and all that train of ills; and it promotes the menses.
