"[Plin. Nat. 24.61.] - THE HERB SAVIN: SEVEN REMEDIES.
Of the herb savin, known as “brathy” by the Greeks, there are two varieties, one of them with a leaf like that of the tamarix, the other with that of the cypress; for which reason some persons have called this last the Cretan cypress. It is used by many for fumigations, as a substitute for frankincense; employed in medicine, it is said to have the same effect as cinnamon, if taken in doses twice as large. It reduces gatherings, disperses corrosive sores, acts as a detergent upon ulcers, and, used as a pessary and as a fumigation, brings away the dead fœtus. It is employed as a topical application for erysipelas and carbuncles, and, taken with honey in wine, is curative of jaundice. The smoke of this plant, they say, cures the pip in all kinds of poultry.”
(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.)