Mustard.
Sinapis.
A common rough looking plant, wild in many places, but kept also in gardens, for the sake of the seed. It grows a yard high. The stalk is round, smooth, thick, and of a pale green; the leaves are large, and of a coarse green, deeply indented, and placed irregularly; they hang down, and have a disagreeable aspect. The flowers are small and yellow; they grow in great numbers on the tops of the branches, and the pods of the seed follow them. The whole plant is of an acrid pungent taste. The root is white.
The seeds are the part used; what we call mustard is made of them, and it is very wholesome; it strengthens the stomach, and procures an appetite. The seed bruised and taken in large quantities, works by urine, and is excellent against rheumatisms, and the scurvy. It also promotes the menses. Laid upon the tongue it will sometimes restore speech in palsies.
