The indigenous peoples of Australia treated wounds with moulds harvested from the shaded side of eucalyptus trees. The Jewish Talmud features a mould cure known as ‘chamka’, consisting of mouldy corn soaked in date wine. Ancient Egyptian papyruses from 1500 BCE refer to the curative properties of mould, and in 1640 the King’s herbalist in London, John Parkinson, described the use of moulds to treat wounds.
