Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Christopher, the Herb

CHRISTOPHER, the Herb, or Actæa spicata, L. is an indigenous plant, growing in woods and shady places, and is found chiefly near Malham-Cove, Clapham, Thorpe Arch, and other places in the north-west of Yorkshire. It is perennial, attains the height of about 2 1/2 feet; flowers in the months of May, or June; and produces black, shining, pulpy berries in autumn, about the size of peas, which are considered as poisonous.

On account of its fetid smell, this plant is said to be frequented by toads: it is, nevertheless, eaten by sheep and goats, but refused by cows, horses, and swine. The dry leaves are extremely sharp and rough, so that they may be usefully employed for polishing hard wood and ivory.—The berries, boiled with alum, yield a deep, black dye; and Thielbein, a German writer (in Crell's "Chemical Discoveries, vol. ii.), asserts that the red berries of the Actæa spicata, give a beautiful dye, equal to that obtained from cochineal; after boiling them with cream of tartar, and dropping into the decoction a solution of tin in aqua fqrtis, the colour became permanent.—We believe he alludes to the berries produced by another species of this herb, either the Actæa alba, or racemosa of North America, or the cimicifuga, of Siberia (which is an excellent preservative against the worm in paper, moths, and bugs); because our native species generally produces black berries.