Spurge Laurel.

Botanical name: 

Laureola.

A wild little shrub of a singular aspect and of considerable virtues, it is three feet high, the stem is half an inch thick, and divides into a great many branches. The bark is of a brownish colour, and they are not very strong. The leaves stand at the tops of the branches, they are long, narrow, and of a bright and fine green; they are of a firm substance, and are not indented at the edges. The flowers are very small and inconsiderable, they are green with some yellow threads, and have a sweet smell; the berries are small, roundish, and black.

The leaves are a powerful remedy against the dropsy, but they are so violent they must be given with caution; a small quantity of a slight infusion of them in water, works by vomit and stool in a powerful manner. It is not every constitution that can bear such a medicine.


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