Mistletoe Medicinal Plant 1737

by Science Source

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Mistletoe Medicinal Plant 1737

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Science Source

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"A Curious Herbal", Plate 184. Mistletoe had been applied as a remedy for tumors and ulcers from Roman times. Blackwell also remarks on its use for "convulsion fits, the apoplexy, palsy, and vertigo." Mistletoe (Viscum album) is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae. Mistletoe is used for heart and blood vessel conditions including high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, internal bleeding, and hemorrhoids; epilepsy and infantile convulsions; gout; psychiatric conditions such as depression; sleep disorders; headache; absence of menstrual periods; symptoms of menopause; and for blood purifying. Some people use European mistletoe for treating mental and physical exhaustion; to reduce side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy; as a tranquilizer; and for treating whooping cough, asthma, dizziness, diarrhea, chorea, and liver and gallbladder conditions. It has been used for treating cancer since the 1920s, especially in Europe. Elizabeth Blackwell (1707-1758) was a famed Scottish illustrator and author who was best known as both the artist and engraver for the plates of "A Curious Herbal" (1737). A herbal is a book of plants, describing their appearance, their properties and how they may be used for preparing ointments and medicines. The book is notable both for its beautiful illustrations of medicinal plants and for the unusual circumstances of its creation. Blackwell undertook the project to raise money to pay her husband's debts and release him from debtor's prison. She drew, engraved, and colored the illustrations herself, mostly using plant specimens from the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. It was an artistic, scientific and commercial enterprise unprecedented for a woman of her time. Little is known of her later years. She died in 1758, at the age of 50 or 51. She remained loyal to Alexander throughout, even sharing royalties with him from the sale of additional book rights.

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June 16th, 2014

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