rebral disorders, the flowers, seeds, and roots of this plant are prescribed. Wood betony and French lavender produce flowers and seeds in rounded clusters that mimic the head; therefore, they are rightly included among medicines for head-related ailments. The headed poppy, quinces, gourds, and melons are fruits shaped like the head, and for this reason, they offer wonderful relief for headaches. We should also mention others of this kind, especially the wild snapdragon, which resembles a human skull in its flower and seed.

Marigold, chamomile, ox-eye daisy, lavender cotton, leopard’s bane, elecampane, starwort, prickly poppy, anemone, and hawkweed—which the hawk uses to dispel dimness of sight—all express the image of an eye in their flowers. Consequently, they provide no small assistance for eye conditions. The greater houseleek, known to others as *Zoophthalmon* and to the Romans as "Jupiter’s Eye," displays eye-like shapes in the leaves around its perimeter; Dioscorides used this plant for eye inflammations. The berries of Herb Paris bear the signature of the pupil, and from these, a chemical oil is extracted which chemists call the "soul of the eyes," and it is most effective against eye afflictions. Indeed, the flower of the cinquefoil represents the pupil of the eye, and its water, distilled through chemical apparatus, is quite remarkable for treating troubled eyes. We shall deliberately omit eyebright, which all botanists have identified as an ophthalmic remedy both by its signature and its effects.

The nose is elegantly represented by the leaf of water mint; thus, an extract of it restores a lost sense of smell. Ears are mirrored by the leaves of asarabacca; therefore, a conserve prepared from its flowers benefits the hearing. The signature of the gums is revealed by the lesser stonecrop that clings to walls, and the juice expressed from this herb is recommended for scurvy and other gum defects.

Pomegranate seeds resemble teeth; they heal damaged gums and firm the teeth. Toothwort and other species of *Dentaria* produce roots fashioned with a wondrous natural skill, for they mimic teeth with a series of scales. The seed pod of henbane has the shape of a molar, and an oil or a decoction of its root or seed prepared in vinegar provides an excellent remedy for toothache. Finally, pine nuts resemble incisor teeth, and the roots of the wild meadow saffron mimic canines; for this reason, pine leaves boiled in vinegar soothe tooth pain. The roots of throatwort, bellflower, and figwort resemble the glands of the throat; thus, they are quite useful for those suffering from scrofula.

Lungwort, which clings to rocks and trees, and another variety of lungwort marked with white spots that seem to represent the substance of the lungs, are highly regarded for lung diseases. The fruit of the cashew is similar to the heart in shape and color, and so it revives failing senses. The roots of anthora and mountain nard display two little hearts, and citron fruits mimic the heart, as do the leaves of lemon balm and wood sorrel; consequently, the extraordinary virtues of all these plants are celebrated for strengthening the heart. The creeping bladder-cherry produces black seeds within its bladders, but the darkness of the seeds reveals a white likeness of the human heart; for this reason, many have reported that these seeds are beneficial to the heart. Indeed, Sicilian women, guided by nature, call this plant *Concordia* ("Harmony"), because it reconciles husbands and wives who are quarreling. We shall pass over peaches and other fruits of this type which seem to expertly mimic the heart.

Likenesses of hands can be seen in the leaves of the fig and the castor-oil plant, as well as in the root of the "Palm of Christ." Therefore, Mesue attributed to these plants a power to purge humors flowing to the joints. The roots of the meadow saffron reflect the image of fingers, in which even the beginnings of nails can be seen; according to Serapion, these roots help with gout of the hand. Also, a type of grass growing on walls divides its tip into five shoots, like five fingers; some call it *Ischaemon*, and the fingers and nails receive immense benefit from this plant.

We observe the shape of the intestines in sweet flag and purging cassia, just as we see the form of the navel in the navelwort, or "Venus’s Navel." Consequently, Dioscorides claimed this plant was effective as an aphrodisiac, as some call the navel the "seat of luxury."

We can perceive the shape of the spleen in spleenwort and hart’s tongue fern; these plants are of great benefit to those with spleen ailments. The leaves of the liver-