Ladies' Mantle.
Archimilla.
A very pretty little plant, native of some parts of England, but not very common wild. The leaves are numerous and very beautiful; they are broad, and of a roundish figure, but divided deeply into eight parts, and each of these elegantly indented about the edges. They are of a yellowish green colour, nearly as broad as the palm of ones hand, and they stand upon foot-stalks of an inch or two in length. The stalks grow in the midst; they are round, a little hairy, eight inches long, not very upright, and of a pale green colour. The flowers stand in considerable numbers at their tops; they are small and of a greenish colour, but have a great many yellow threads in the middle. The root is long, thick, and dark coloured.
The root is the part most valuable; a decoction of it fresh taken up, is an excellent remedy for the overflowings of the menses, for bloody fluxes, and all other bleedings. Dried and powdered it answers the same purpose, and is also good against common purgings. The good women in the north of England apply the leaves to their breasts, to make them recover their form, after they have been swelled with milk. Hence it has got the name of ladies' mantle.
