This section of the book is from "The Complete Herbalist" by Dr. O. Phelps Brown. Also available from Amazon: The Complete Herbalist: The People Their Own Physicians By The Use Of Nature's Remedies.
COMMON NAMES. Hair-cap Moss, Robin's Rye,
Ground Moss.
MEDICINAL PART. The whole plant.
Description. -- This is an indigenous plant,
having a perennial stem, slender, of a reddish color, and from four to
seven inches high; leaves lanceolate, and somewhat spreading. The
fruit a four-sided oblong capsule.
History. -- This evergreen plant is found
in high, dry places, along the margins of dry woods, mostly on poor sandy
soil. It is of darker green color than the mosses in general.
It yields its virtues to boiling water.
Properties and Uses. -- This plant is not
much known as a remedial agent, but is nevertheless a valuable remedy.
It is a powerful diuretic, and very serviceable in dropsy. It is
very useful in gravel and urinary obstructions. It causes no nausea
or disagreeable sensations in the stomach, and may be used with the hydragogue
cathartics with decided advantage in dropsical affections.
 
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