r _Caryophyllaceoe_. The word
Pink is a corruption of the Greek Pentecost [433] (fiftieth), which
has now come to signify a festival of the Church. In former days the
blossoms were commended as highly cordial: their odour is sweet
and aromatic, so that an agreeable syrup may be made therefrom.
The dried petals, if powdered, and kept in a stoppered bottle, are of
service against heartburn and flatulence, being given in a dose of
from twenty to sixty grains. Gerard says, "a conserve made of the
flowers with sugar is exceeding cordiall, and wonderfully above
measure doth comfort the heart, being eaten now and then. A water
distilled from Pinks has been commended as excellent for curing
epilepsy, and if a conserve be composed of them, this is the life and
delight of the human race." The flower was at one time called
_ocellus_, from the eye-shaped markings of its corolla. It is nervine
and antispasmodic. By a mistake Turner designated the Pink
Incarnation.

PLANTAIN.

The Plantains (_Plantaginacecoe_), from _planta_, the sole of the
foot, are humble plants, well known as weeds in fields and by
roadsides, having ribbed leaves and spikes of flowers conspicuous
by their long stamens. As Herbal Simples, the Greater Plantain, the
Ribwort Plantain, and the Water Plantain, are to be specially
considered.

The Greater Plantain of the waysides affords spikes of seeds which
are a favourite food of Canaries, and which, in common with the
seeds of other sorts, yield a tasteless mucilage, answering well as a
substitute for linseed. The leaves of the Plantains have a bitter
taste, and are somewhat astringent.

The generic name _Plantago_ is probably derived from the Latin
_planta_, the sole of the foot, in allusion to the [434] broad, flat
leaves lying close on the ground, and ago, the old synonym for wort,
a cultivated plant.

This greater Plantain (_Plantago major_) is also termed Waybred,
Waybread, or Waybroad, "spread on the way," and has followed our
colonists to all parts of the globe, being therefore styled "The
Englishman's Foot" and "Whiteman's Foot." The shape of the leaf in
the larger species resembles a footprint. The root has a sweet taste,
and gives the saliva a reddish tinge.

Dioscorides advised that it should be applied externally for sores of
every kind, and taken internally against haemorrhages. In the
_Romeo and Juliet_ of Shakespeare, Romeo says, "Your Plantain
leaf is excellent for broken shin." Country