Vienna Dioscorides III.224.rt
Top center: μήκων ῥοιὰς, Corn Poppy.
Bottom center below main text: ὠνόμασται διὰ τὸ ταχέως τὸ ἄνθος ἀποβάλλειν· φύεται δὲ ἐν ἀρούραις ἧρος, ὅτε καὶ συλλέγεται. τὰ δὲ φύλλα ἔοικε ἢ κιχωρίῳ ἤ θύμῳ, ὑπεσχισμένα μακρότερα δὲ καὶ τραχύτερα· καυλὸν δὲ σχοινώδη, ὄρθον, τραχὺ, ὡς πήχεως, ἄνθος φοινικοῦν, ἐνίοτε δὲ λευκόν, ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς ἀγρίας ἀνεμώνης· κεφαλὴ δὲ προμήκης, ἧττον μέντοι τῆς ἀνεμώνης, καρπὸς πυρρός, ῥίζα ἐπιμήκης, ὑπόλευκος, δακτύλου ἔχουσα μικροῦ πάχος πικρά. ταύτης κεφαλὰς πέντε ἢ ἓξ ἐν οἴνου κυάθοις τρισὶν ἑψήσας, ὥστε εἰς δύο ἀγαγεῖν, πότιζε οὓς ἂν βούλῃ ὑπνῶσαι. τοῦ δὲ σπέρματος ὅσον ὀξύβαφον ποθὲν σὺν μελικράτῳ κοιλίαν ἠπίως μαλάσσει· μείγνυται δὲ καὶ μελιτώμασι καὶ ἰτρίοις πρὸς τὸ αὐτό. τὰ δὲ φύλλα σὺν ταῖς κωδύαις καταπλασθέντα φλεγμονὰς ἰᾶται· καὶ τὸ ἀπόζεμα δὲ αὐτῶν προσαντληθὲν ὑπνοποιόν ἐστιν.
Named because it swiftly loses its flower. It grows in cultivated fields in the spring, when it also is collected. Its leaves look like either chicory or thyme [leaves], but incised and bigger and more jagged. Its stem is stringy, upright, and jagged, about a cubit in length. The flower is crimson, but sometimes white, like the wild anemone. Its head is elongated, albeit less than the anemone, its fruit is fire-red, the roots longish and whitish, having the thickness of the little finger, and bitter. After boiling five or six of its heads in three cups of wine, until it becomes two, give it to drink to those whom you want to fall asleep. A saucer’s-worth of its seed, drunk with honey-milk mixture, gently softens the bowel, it is mixed with honey-cakes and sesame-cakes for the same purpose. The leaves with the heads treat inflammations when plastered on [them], and its decoction is a soporific when poured on [a patient].
