Pila Marina, Sea Balls

Sphaera marina, Sphaera thalasia, Halcyonium rotundum, Globulus marinus

Metallotheca Vaticana, Mercati, 1719

Left: whole Pila Marina; Right: internal part of Pila marina showing different Seaweeds
Museum Museorum, Valentini, 1704

Botanical name:

Composed of various seagrass and seaweed species

Parts used:

Round balls made of fibers of various species of sea-grasses. Wind and the tide bind them together into balls.
‘By these names are designated certain light, round, depressed or oblong, inodorous, inspid masses, in which rushes, hair, and often fragments of shells are to be seen. They are found on the borders of the ocean and of the Baltic Sea. (Pharmcopoeia Universalis, Jourdan, London, 1833)

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, dry. Salty

Uses:

1. Clears Phlegm Heat, Resolves Masses:
-primarily used for Neck swellings, Scrofula and Goiter (as Sponge)

2. Kills Worms:
-used for Worms (Vollstandiges Materialien Lexicon, Lemery, 1721)

3. Externally:
-applied to promote hair growth (Vollstandiges Materialien Lexicon, Lemery, 1721)

Dose:

1–3 grams in powder or pills

Substitute:

Sponge or Sponge ashes

Main Combinations:

Primarily used in formulas for Scrofula, Neck swellings including Goiter, Swollen Lymph nodes etc. Usually combined with medicines such as Sponge, Sponge ashes, Pumice, Cuttlefish bone etc.

Major Formulas:

Powder for Scrofula (Wirtzung)
Powder for Scrofula (Pharmacopoea Argentorarensis)
Powder for Scrofula (Palestra Pharmaceutica)
Powder for Scrofula (Arnold de Villa Nova)
Powder for Scrofula (Bononiense)

Cautions:

None noted.