Park Leaves

Tutsan or park leaves deserves special notice, on account of its great virtues. It has brownish shining round stalks. It grows two feet high. The stalks are firm, and smooth, tolerably upright, not branched, except for some young shoots near the tops. The leaves stand two at each joint, opposite to one another, at no great distance, they are large, and nearly oval their colour is a brownish green, they are smooth, and not serrated at the edges.

The flowers are not large, but of a beautiful yellow, like those of st. John's wort, full of yellow threads, which stain the hands red. The fruit is a kind of berry, when ripe black, containing many small seeds. The plant in autumn frequently appears of a blood red colour, very singular and beautiful. The root is small, reddish, and irregular; it creeps under the surface. It grows in woods, groves, and woody grounds, parks, and forests.

The leaves are an excellent cure for fresh wounds. Scarcely any thing is equal to them. The young and tender ones at the tops of the branches are to be used; they are to be bound upon the wound, and they stop the bleeding, and effect a very speedy cure. There have been very singular instances of the efficacy of this herb. Many other plants are celebrated for their curative properties; but the efficacy of this is surprising. A decoction of the tops promotes urine. Park leaves purges choleric humours. Its virtues are very similar to those of.