Smearwort
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Smearwort (Aristolochia rotunda), also known as English Mercury, Mercury Goosefoot, Allgood, Tola Bona, Fat Hen and Fette Henne, is a perennial herb.
[edit] Uses
The name Smearwort derived from its use as ointment. Poultices derived from the leaves were used to heal chronic sores. Roots were often used on sheep to remedy cough and the seeds have found employment in the making of shagreen. In Germany it was used for fattening poultry hence the name fette henne meaning fat hen. When taken orally it acts as a gentle laxative.
Smearwort leaves can be gathered when young and delicate then boiled in broth. If grown in rich soil the shoots may be cut five inches high when no bigger than a pencil, to be peeled and boiled then eaten as asparagus.
[edit] Botanical description
Smearwort is a dark-green, succulent plant, which grows to around around 2 feet high, rising from stout, fleshy, branching root-stock, with large, thickish, arrow-shaped leaves and tiny yellowish-green flowers in many close spikes, 1 to 2 inches long, both terminal and arising from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is bladder-like and contains a single seed.
