Gypsy-wort (Lycopus europæus), sometimes also called Water Horehound, is a perennial plant belonging to the natural order Labiate. It is a tall erect branching plant, slightly hairy, with a creeping root-stock. It is common in moist places in Britain, the Continent, Russian and central Asia, and North America; and is regarded as a febrifuge and astringent. It dyes black, and gives a permanent colour to wool, linen, and silk, and as long ago as 1578 the Gypsies were fabled to stain their skin with it. The Bngle-weed of North America (L. virginicus) has more powerfully astringent properties.
Gypsy-wort
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 5: Friday to Humanitarians, p. 491
Source scan(s): p. 0506