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This one's a cliffhanger - sailors At sea sicken for A haven from the waves, Searching the shore, Finding in rocky coves A promise of kindness in its petals, Healing in its heart-shaped leaves. |
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Scurvygrass is salt tolerant and grows extensively by the sea. Containing lots of available Vitamin C, it was used to treat sufferers from scurvy - "those that lie lamentable sick of the scurvies", as Gerard put it in his Herbal - which particularly affected sailors deprived of fresh vegetables while at sea, so collected as a cure when they made landfall. |
