Blackwell's Herbal - Dandelion and Red Poppy, Plates 1 and 2

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The first plate shows the dandelion, a common wild flower. Blackwell mentions its ability to stimulate the flow of urine among its medicinal uses. Recent research has confirmed this effect. The latex [the milky substance found inside the whole plant] can be used to treat warts, corns and verrucas. Blackwell describes the root as 'about a finger thick and eight inches long full of a white bitter milk'. The crushed and powdered root can be drunk as a coffee substitute. Blackwell notes that the leaves are 'much eat as a salad in the spring'.

The second plate shows the red poppy, also called the field or corn poppy, a harmless relative of the opium poppy. 'The flowers', Blackwell writes, 'are cooling, incline to sleep, and much used in inflammatory fevers.' The petals are the parts used in medical preparations. Blackwell lists these as a syrup, a conserve of the flowers and a tincture.