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"[Plin. Nat. 27.50.] - THE ELATINE: TWO REMEDIES.
The elatine has leaves like those of the helxine, diminu- tive, round, and hairy; its branches are small, half a foot in length, five or six in number, and covered with leaves from the root upwards. It grows in corn-fields, and has a rough flavour: hence it is found very useful for defluxions of the eyes, the leaves being beaten up and applied with polenta in a linen pledget. A decoction of this plant with linseed, taken in pottage, is good for dysentery. "
(The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.)