Hedge Hyssop.

Botanical name: 

Gratiola.

A little plant kept in our gardens. It grows to a foot in height; the stalks are square, slender, and not very robust: the leaves are long, narrow, and sharp-pointed: they stand two at every joint. The flowers are long, moderately large, and yellow; they grow from the bosoms of the leaves, and are hollow, and only a little divided at the ends: they are somewhat like fox-glove flowers.

A decoction of the fresh plant is an excellent purge, but it works roughly; it is good against dropsies and rheumatisms; and the jaundice ha been often cured by it singly.


The Family Herbal, 1812, was written by John Hill.