White Saxifrage.
Saxifraga alba.
A very pretty plant in our meadows, distinguished by the regular shape of its leaves, and its white snowy flowers. It grows ten inches high; the stalk is round, thick, firm, upright, and a little hairy. The leaves are of a pale green colour, and fleshy substance: they are of a roundish figure, and indented about the edges; and they stand upon long foot-stalks. The flowers are large and white; they grow in considerable numbers on the tops of the stalks. The root is composed of a parcel of small white or reddish granules.
The root is used; and these small parts of which it consists have been used to be called by ignorant apothecaries saxifrage seed. It is diuretic, and good against the gravel. The roots are best fresh, and the best way of giving them is in decoction.
