Asphodel.
Asphodelus verus ramosus albus.
AN elegant garden flower, a native of Italy, and preserved with us more for its beauty than its use, though sometimes taken as a medicine. It grows to three feet in height, and the stalk divides into three or four branches towards the top. The flowers are wlhte, and they stand in spikes on the tops of these divisions. They are streaked with purple on the top, and have yellow threads in the middle. The leaves are long and narrow, hollowed and sharp-pointed; the root is composed of several oblong lumps. The root is the part used in medicine, and it is said to be good against all obstructions, particularly against those of the menses.
There is another kind of asphodel with yellow flowers (Asphodeline lutea -Henriette), the root of which is said to possess the same virtues, but it is more rarely used than the other.
