Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Glechoma Bedereces Syn, Nepeie

LABIATAE

ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, ale hoof, cai’s-iooi, haymaids, robin-run-in-thehedge, creeping Charlie (or fenny), runaway-robin

Like so many wild plants, this European one was introduced by the early settlers, and spread widely. A ground-hugging perennial vine, its long, trailing stems root at intervals and bear downy, ivy-shaped leaves of dark green. In rich soil its growth is as strong as its pungency, and it can be considered a weed. Pretty, purplish blue flowers appear on short, upright branches through the summer.

The common name ale hoof, seemingly so strange, relates to the medieval use of the plant, before the discovery of the value of hops, to impart the desired bitter flavor to beer, to prevent it from turning sour, and to clear it. This use ended four hundred years ago, but the name remains.

Its properties are astringent, diuretic, and tonic, and it is considered valuable for coughs accompanied by much phlegm. Either the fresh or dried plant may be used for an infusion, made with 1 teaspoonful of leaves to 1 cup of boiling water, drunk a cupful or more per day. It is surely not harmful and possibly helpful.

The pungency of the crushed foliage quickly affects the head, and it is said that the juice of the herb, snuffed up the nose, will cure headaches when all other efforts have failed.

Grieve’s Herbal says of Glechoma in part:
The expressed juice may also be advantageously used for bruises and “black eyes.” It is also employed as an antiscorbutic, for which it has a long-standing reputation. Combined with Yarrow or Chamomile Flowers it is said to make an excellent poultice for abscesses, gatherings and tumours.

Another writer quotes a gypsy friend, “And us people, if so be as we’re hurt with a cut or a sprain, makes an ointment of ground ivy along with chickweed.”