Sentence:  Leonardo Fioravanti, an Italian Physitian, beside many other secrets, assumeth unto himself the discovery of one concerning <WSD>Pellitory of the Wall</WSD>; that is, that it never groweth in the sight of the North star. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A plant of the species "Parietaria officinalis", that has greenish flowers and often grows on walls ((eastern pellitory-of-the-wall)).