Bear's Breech, Medicinal Plant, 1737
A Curious Herbal, Plate 89. "Glisters" (enemas) and baths, made from the leaves of the bear's breech, were taken for "obstructions, and for the stone and gravel (bladder stones)." Blackwell warns against "the herb women (who) sell the leaves of the hellebore aster, or bear's-foot. Or sphondylium, or cow-parsnip, instead of this plant, to those that are ignorant." Bear's breeches (Acanthus mollis) is a herbaceous perennial plant with an underground rhizome in the genus plant has been used as a wound healer and internally taken to soothe the mucous membranes in the digestive and urinary tracts. The crushed leaves have been used in poultices and placed on burns or scalds to relieve the pain. The plant has astringent qualities and has been used to treat diarrhea and to heal wounds, as well as being used to clean wounds. It has been taken internally to purify the blood and to calm the stomach. It is also said to have expectorant properties. 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).
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