Lily Of The Valley

Convallaria majalis

HRB-0174Entry “LILY OF THE VALLEY” in the 1850 textNot in the 1652 first edition: added by Culpeper in 1653 or by a later editor up to 1850

Open in the Concordance

Old claims, quoted verbatim: not medical advice. A warning sits above the claims and never hides them; no warning does not mean safe, only that no source here has flagged the plant.

⚠ Poisonous · All partsCardiac glycosides (convallatoxin), like foxglove's. Most poisonings stay mild because they absorb poorly, but serious heart effects are reported.EFSA: convallatoxin, convalloside

Culpeper’s claims about it: 5, under 5 headings

  1. ApoplexyCLM-0001191850 index
    The spirit of the flowers distilled in wine, restores lost speech, helps the palsy, and is excellently good in the apoplexy, comforts the heart and vital spirits.
    QUO-000099Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  2. Brain (to strengthen)CLM-000337
    GOVERNMENT AND VIRTUES.] It is under the dominion of Mercury, and therefore it strengthens the brain, recruits a weak memory, and makes it strong again:
    QUO-000293Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  3. InflammationsCLM-000928
    The distilled water dropped into the eyes, helps inflammations there;
    QUO-000705Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  4. Memory (to strengthen)CLM-001334
    GOVERNMENT AND VIRTUES.] It is under the dominion of Mercury, and therefore it strengthens the brain, recruits a weak memory, and makes it strong again:
    QUO-000293Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  5. Nervous Complaints — Head-acheCLM-0023771850 index, p. 105

    Listed in the 1850 index; the herbal entry has no sentence naming this complaint. No quotation is recorded.

    Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance

Source

Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal, a new edition (London: Thomas Kelly, 1850). Project Gutenberg eBook #49513. SRC-CUL-1850

Quotations are verbatim from the 1850 text, line breaks joined. Modern research and the European regulator’s verdict on each claim are on the Concordance page, kept apart from this historical record.