Black Bryony.
Brionia nigra.
THERE is not any instance which more blames our neglect of the medicines of our own growth, than this of the black bryony, a medicine scarce known or heard of, but equal to any.
The plant climbs upon bushes and hedges like the former, but this by twisting its stalk about the branches of trees and shrubs, for it has no tendrils. It runs to fifteen feet in height, the stalk is tough and angular: the leaves are broad, and of a heart-like shape, and are perfectly smooth and shining, and of a glossy and very deep blackish green. The flowers are very small and of a greenish white; the berries are red. The root is black without, white within, and full of a slimy juice.
The root of black briony is one of the best diuretics known in medicine. It is an excellent remedy in the gravel, and all other obstructions of urine, and other disorders of the urinary passages.
