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"[Plin. Nat. 27.7.] - THE ALYPON: ONE REMEDY.
The alypon has a small stem, with a soft head, and is not unlike beet in appearance. It has an acrid, viscous taste. extremely pungent and burning. Taken in hydromel, with a little salt, it acts as a purgative. The smallest dose is two drachmæ, a moderate dose, four, and the largest, six. When used as a purgative, it is taken in chicken broth.
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(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.)