SCURVY-GRASS, in botany. See COCHLEARIA. The officinalis, or common officinal scurvy-grass; grows upon rocks on the sea coast, and on the Highland mountains, abundantly. It has an acrid, bitter, and acid taste, and is highly recommended for the scurvy. There are instances of a whole ship's crew having been cured of that distemper by it; and as it abounds with acid salts, there can be no doubt but that it is a great resister of putrefaction. The best way of taking it
it is raw in a salad. It is also diuretic, and useful in dropsies. The Highlanders esteem it as a good stomachic.
The coronopus, another species, was some years ago rendered famous, the ashes of it being an ingredient in Mrs Joanna Stephens's celebrated medicine for the stone and gravel; but, unfortunately for those afflicted with that excruciating complaint, it has not been able to support its credit. It is acrid, and tastes like garden cress.