Wall-Rue - The English Physitian

WALL-RUE. or WHITE MAIDEN-HAIR

Description.  This hath very fine pale green stalks, almost as fine as hair, set confusedly with divers pale green leaves on every short foot-stalk, somewhat near unto the colour of garden rue, and not much differing in form, but more diversely cut in on the edges, and thicker, smooth on the upper part, and spotted finely underneath.

Place.  It groweth in many places of this land, at Dartford, and the bridge at Ashford in Kent; at Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire; at Wholly in Huntingdonshire, on Framingham castle in Suffolk; on the church-walls at Mayfleld in Sussex, in Somersetshire; and divers other places of this land; and is gleen in winter as well as summer.

Government and Virtues.   Both this and the former are under the dominion of Mercury, and so is that also which followeth after, and the virtues of both these are so near alike, that though I have described them and their places of growing severally, yet I shall in writing the virtues of them, join them both together as followeth:

The decoction of the herb maiden-hair being drank, helpeth those that are troubled with the cough, shortness of breath, the yellow jaundice, diseases of the spleen, stopping of urine, and helpeth exceedingly to break the stone in the kidneys (in all which diseases the wall-rue is also very effectual:) it provoketh women’s courses, and stays both bleedings and fluxes of’ the stomach and belly, especially when the herb is dry; for being green, it looseneth the belly, and voideth choler and phlegm from the stomach and liver; it cleanseth the lungs, and by rectifying the blood, causeth a good colour to the whole body. The herb boiled in oil of camomile, dissolveth knots, allayeth swellings, and drieth up moist ulcers. The lee made thereof is singularly good to cleanse the head from scurf and from dry and running sores, stayethi the falling or shedding of the hair, and causeth it to grow thick, fair, and well coloured for which purpose some boil it in wine, putting some smallage seed thereto, and afterwards some oil. The wall-rue is as effectual as maiden-hair, in all the diseases of the head, or fulling and recovering of the hair again, and generally for all the afore-mentioned diseases. And besides, the powder of it taken in drink for forty days together, helpeth the burstings in children.

N.B. - Housenote: Asplenium ruta muraria, Wallrue, spleenwort