H E L
H E L
He ranges it among the verticillate aromatic plants ; and men- tioning it with mint, mother of thyme, and fuch others, it feems to have been a plant of that clafs. But Diofcorides plainly fuits his defcription of the Helenium to the plant we now call by that name. He fays, it had large and hoary leaves refembltng thofe of the verbafcum or mullein, and that its root was of an aromatic fmell, but the reft: of the plant not fo. Pliny feems to have difliked the account of Diofco- rides, and to have taken his defcription of this plant from other Greek authors. He fays, it was a fmall aromatic herb fpreading upon the ground with woody ftalks of fix or eight inches long, and with fmall and fhort leaves like the ferpyl- lum, or mother of thyme ; and that it grew all over Greece, and was ufed in the making of garlands. This fmall plant feems therefore to have been the Helenium of all the antients, except Diofcorides ; and it appears very ftrange, that he who lived in Greece fhould depart from the common opinion of his countrymen, and miftake the name of a plant which grew commonly wild, and was in daily ufe at that time, as Diofcorides no where fo much as mentions this common He- lenium of the Greeks, but treats folely of our Helenium, or elecampane ; under which name we find no error, in regard to its virtues, from him. But Pliny, who tho' he has rejected Diofcorides's account of the figure of the plant called by this name, has adopted his defcription of its qua- lities and virtues, and adding thefe to the lift of thofe given by others of the fmall aromatic and verticillate Helenium, he has made many great errors, and given occafion to many more in others. He fays, that the herb Helenium was an aromatic, and good againft the bites of ferpents ; and that the root of it was of a fweet tafte, very full of juice, and good in afthmas, &c. Thefe and the like virtues fhew that he had copied the qualities of different plants, known to dif- ferent authors, by the fame name of Helenium ; and between this and his falfe tranftations of fome of the Greeks, his ac- count in general is by no means to be depended upon. Pliny I. 23. c. 8.
The root of the Helenium, or Elecampane, has been long famous in all diforders of the brcaft and lungs. It is alfo re- commended as a fudorific and alexipharmic, and as fuch has a place in moft of the compofitions of that intention. An ointment made of the frefh roots and leaves, with lard, is alfo much recommended in the itch and other cutaneous foulneffes.
HELFING, in our old writers, a hrafs coin among the Saxons, equivalent to our halfpenny. Blount.
HELIANTHEMUM, fmall Sun-fioiver, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, called alfo Cijlus and Ghameeciftus by
• authors ; the characters of which are thefe : The flower is of the rofaceous kind, confiding of feveral leaves, difpofed in a circular form. The cup is alfo compofed of feveral leaves, and from this arifes the piftil, which afterwards becomes a fort of globofe fruit, which fplits open three ways, and is full of roundifh feeds, affixed to {lender filaments, or to pla- centae.
The fpecies of Helianthemum^ enumerated by Mr. Tourne- fort, are thefe : I. The vcllow-flower'd common Heli-
- anthemum. 2. The common Helianthemum, with pale yel- low flowers. 3. The common Helianthemum, with white flowers. 4. The krge-leav'd white- flowered Helianthemum, 5. The white-flowered German Helianthemum. 6. The white- flowered Helianthemum, with narrow hairy leaves. 7. The white-flowered ftone Helianthemum, with oblong nar- row leaves, and hairy ftalks. 8. The ferpyllum-leav'd He- liantheynnm, with large gold yellow fweet-fcented flowers. q. The narrow-leav'd yellow- flower'd Helianthemum. 10. The Helianthemum, with fmall myrtle-like leaves, hoary un- derneath, ir. The narrow-leav'd fmooth, erect, yellow- flower'd Helianthemum. 12. The procumbent, narrow- leav'd gold yellow-flower'd Helianthemum. 13. The cat's- foot-leav'd alpine Heliantheiman. 14. The hoary thyme- leaved Helianthemum. 15. The fmooth thyme-leav'd He- lianthemum. 16. The marjoram-leav'd Helianthemum, with very hairy heads. 17. The moneywort-leav'd Helianthemum. 18. The polcy-leav'd Helianthemum. ig. The hoary fhrub Helianthemwn, with marjoram-leaves. 20. The Heli- anthemum, with fhort obtufe leaves like thofe of the fea purfelain. 21. The Helianthemum, with broader and pointed leaves like thofe of fea purfelain. 22. The annual Heli- anthemum, with fedum leaves. 23. The lavender-leav'd He- lianthemum. 24. The fpotted-flowerM Helianthemum. 25. The thyme-lcav'd Helianthemum, with umbellated flowers. 26. The Helianthemum with leaves like rofemary, fhining on the upper fide, and hairy underneath. 27. The hoary marjoram-leav'd Helianthemum, with fpotted flowers. 28. The Helianthemum, with fmooth ground pine leaves. 29. The Portugal Helianthemum, with large and broad leaves like thofe of poky. 30. The Portugal Helianthemum, with nar- rower polcy-like leaves. 31. The procumbent Portugal /&• liatithemum, with leaves like thofe of the fea purfelain, and large yellow flowers. 32. The Spanifh fea purfelain-like Helianthemum, with roundifh leaves. 33. The Spanifh fea purfelain-like Helianthemum, with narrower leaves. 34. The Spanifh fea purfelain- leav'd Helianthemum, with very
fmall leaves. 35. The Portugal Helianthemum, with hoary marum-like leaves,- and yellow flowers. 36. The Portugal Helianthemum, with hoary marum-like leaves, and very harry heads. 37. The Portugal Heli '■ anthemum, with marjoram leaves, and a black fpot in every flower. 38. The Spanifh fea purfelain-like Helianthemum, with large nervous and hoary leaves. 39. The alpine Helianthemum, with olive-like leaves, hoary underneath. 49. The narrow- leav'd Spanifh Helianthemum, with narrow leaves, and flefh-colour'd flowers. 4r. Thcplantain-Ieav'd perennhl Heliafithemum. 42, The Portugal Helianthemum, with hares- ear-leaves, and fpotted flowers. 43. The daify-leav'd Portugal Helianthemum, 44. The annual Portugal plantain-leav'd Helianthcmimi, with three colour'd flowers. 45. The Spanifh Helianthemum > with very fmall roundifh leaves. 46. The Spanifh Heli- anihemum, with origanum leaves, hoary underneath. 47. The Spanifh Helianthemum, with bafil leaves, hoary under- neath. 48. The dwarf Helianthemum, with purfelain like leaves of a filvery colour. Town. Inff. p. 249, 250. The root of Helianthemum, taken internally, is efteemed good againft the bites of ferpents ; and the tops are effectual for the fame purpofe. The plant is aftringent, and a good demulcent, in the form of a decoction, particularly in di- arrhoeas, hemorrhages, and difcafes of the fauces, j. &au- hine fays, it is good in all diforders attended with a flux of any kind. Vid. James, Diet. Med. in voc.
HELICE, orELiCE, the name given by the antient Greeks to the willow. Theophraftus tells us that, in his time, many called the willow not Hele but Helice, Pliny has mifunder- ftood this paflage of Theophraftus, and has reprefentcd the ' willow as being of three kinds, and tells us, that the loweft, or fmalleft of thefe kinds, was called Helice by the Greeks. But this is a falfe distinction, the word Helice fignifying no more nor lefs than the itea or falix, and expreffing one fpecies of falix as well as another : Nor is this the only miftake he has fallen into in this place ; he has faid that the Afiatics fifed the word ; whereas Theophraftus, who was the author he took the account from, mentions the Arcadians, not the Afiatics, as ufing it ; and it appears from others, that Evander the Arcadian was the firft who ufed the word.
HELICTERES, in botany, the name given by Linnaeus to a genus of plants, called Iforia by Plumier, and in the Hortus Malabaricus. The characters are thefe : The periantbiuni is- one leav'd, of a femi-oval figure, narrow at the bottom, and obliquely open at the top, like the ear of fome beaft, tridentated at the apex, and unidentated at the fides, and of a coriaceous- texture. The flower is compofed of five oblong petals, equal in breadth, of the fame length with the cup, and fixed to it. The germen is compofed of five little petals, which furround the germen, and cover it. The germen of the piftil is round- ifh, and is carried on the top of a long, {lender, and crooked ftyle. The ftigma is fimple and acute. The ftamina are ten very fhort filaments, placed at the bafis of the germen. The antherse are oblong and lateral. The fruit is compofed of five oblong capfules, fpirally twiftcd, each containing only one cell. 'The feeds are numerous, and kidney fhaped. Lihnai Gen. Plant, p. 439. Plum. Gen. 37. Hort. Mai. vol. 6. P- 3P-
HELlOCARPUS, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, defcribed by Houfton under the name of Moiftia ; the cha- racters of which are thefe : The perianthium is colour'd, and confifts of four low and fomewhat broad ftrait leaves, which fall with the flower. The flower confifts of four ftrait petals, which are much fmaller than the leaves of the cup. The fta- mina are fixteen pointed filaments, of the length of the cup. The anthers are ftrait, double, and incumbent. The ger- men of the piftil is roundifh. The ftyles, which are two in number, are ftrait, erect, and of the length of the ftamina. The ftigmata are acute, and ftand diftant from one another. The fruit is a turbinated and fomewhat .oval capfule, contain- ing two cells, and furrounded with ramofe radii. It contains two cells, hi each of which is lodged one feed, which is of a fomewhat oval figure. Linntfi Gen. Plant, p, 243.
HELIOCENTROS, in natural hiftory, a name given to an infect of the poifonous kind, called by Ariftotle phalangium decticum, and by the Latins folipuga. Some have erroneoufly written this word folifuga, and then attempted to explain that name by the creature's cuftom of burying itfelf in the fand, to avoid the fun, as they fuppofe ; but it is really only to lie under cover, that it may the more eafily catch flies and other infects. The Greeks have in the fame manner called it holocentres, by corruption from helkcentros ; and their com- mentators have not been wanting to find proper explications of that word. Solinug tells us, that this creature is common in Sardinia ; he fays indeed, that it is particular to that coun- try ; but in that he contradicts the antients, who mention many other places for it. Pliny fays it is found in Ethiopia, and Lucan mentions it among the poifonous creatures of Africa.
HELIOTROPE, (Cycl.) Heliotropium, among the antients, an inftrument or machine, for {lie wing when the fun arrived at the tropics and the xquinodtial line. Hofm. Lex. in voc.
HELIOSTROPHUS, in the materia medica, a name given by
fome of the Greek writers of the later ages, to the gum am-
moniacum of the antients, which feems to have been a very
3 different
