Gromwell
the name of plants of the genus Lithospermum, natural order Boraginaceæ, containing a number of widely distributed species, several of which are natives of America. The seeds of L. officinale are occasionally used as a diuretic.
GRONINGEN (grō-ning gen), a city and capital of the province of Groningen (area, 881 square miles; pop. (1918) 359,950), Netherlands, 25 miles S. W. of Delfzihl, on Dollart Bay. The university, founded in 1614, possesses a library, a botanic garden, an observatory, a collection of Teutonic antiquities, a hospital, and a museum of natural history. A celebrated deaf and dumb institution was founded by Guyot in 1790. Groningen, already an important place in the 9th century, joined the Hanseatic League in 1282. From the 11th century it fought hard to maintain its independence against the bishops of Utrecht, nor did it submit until 1493, and then only to escape being handed over by the emperor to the Duke of Saxony. During the 16th century it had a very stormy history, being finally won for the United Netherlands by Maurice of Nassau in 1594. Pop. (1918) 87,594.