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"[Plin. Nat. 27.30.] - THE BALLOTES, MELAMPRASION, OR BLACK LEEK: THREE REMEDIES.
The Greeks give to the ballotes the other name of "melamprasion," meaning "black leek." It is a branchy plant, with black angular stems, covered with hairy leaves, larger and darker than those of the leek, and possessed of a powerful smell. The leaves, bruised and applied with salt, are highly efficacious for bites inflicted by dogs: cooked upon hot ashes and applied in a cabbage leaf, they are curative of condylomata. Mixed with honey, this plant acts as a detergent upon sordid ulcers. ”
(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.)