Water Arrow Head.
Botanical name:
Sagitta aquatica.
A very pretty plant, common in our ditches, with leaves like the bearded heads of arrows, and with pretty white flowers. It is two feet and a half high, but generally the greatest part of the stalk is buried in water, very little appearing above, except the spike of flowers. The leaves stand each upon a pedicle, which is round, thick, and very long; they are of a beautiful green, and are broad, and bearded at the base, and sharp at the point; the flowers are white, tolerably large, and very bright; and the stalk, on which they are supported, is also round and thick.
The common people in many places have a custom of applying these leaves bruised to inflammations; they cool and give ease, but it is not always right.
