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"[Plin. Nat. 21.80.] - FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE PLANT CALLED “PHU.”
The root of the plant which we have mentioned in the same place under the name of “phu,” is given in drink, either bruised or boiled, in cases of hysterical suffocation, and for pains of the chest or sides. It acts as an emmenagogue, and is generally taken in wine."
(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.)