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The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Herb Robert

Scientific Names

Herb Robert

  • Geranium robertianum L.
  • Geranium family

Common Names

  • Dragon’s blood
  • Storkbill
  • Wild crane’s-bill

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    Parts Usually Used

    The entire plant
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    Description of Plant(s) and Culture

    Herb Robert is a disagreeable-smelling annual or perennial plant, 6-18 inches high; the reddish stem is glandular-hairy, thick, juicy, and forked. The opposite, palmate, 3-5 toothed segment, leaves with pinnate or pinnatifid leaflets are deep green, often tinged with red. The purplish-red or rose colored flowers grow in pairs from May to October. The 5 petals are not notched but have long claws which suggest the long bill of a stork or crane.
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    Where Found

    Found in rocky woods, roadsides, ditches, waste places from Nova Scotia south to Pennsylvania and west to Manitoba and Missouri; also common in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
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    Medicinal Properties

    Astringent, styptic
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    Legends, Myths and Stories

    Some say, as does the Webster’s Dictionary, that this plant was named after Robert, Duke of Normandy or possibly after St. Robert, founder of the Carthusians.

    Farmers for centuries have used Herb Robert for treating cattle.
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    Uses

    Internal use is recommended for diarrhea, gastritis, enteritis, gout, and external hemorrhage. A hot poultice of boiled leaves is said to be good for bladder pains, fistulas, bruises, erysipelas, malaria, tuberculosis, stomach ailments, intestinal ailments, jaundice, gargle for sore throat, kidney infections, tumors, ulcers, and persistent skin problems. The green, crushed leaves are applied to relieve pain and inflammation. Use the tea also as a rinse for inflammations of the mouth, and the dilute tea as an eyewash. Externally, wash or poultice used to relieve swollen breasts, wounds, and is a folk remedy for cancer.
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    Formulas or Dosages

    Remove any developing fruit before using.

    Infusion: steep 1 level tbsp. dried herb in 1 cup water for a short time. Take 1 cup per day.

    Cold extract: use 2 tsp. dried herb with 1 cup cold water. Let stand for 8-10 hours in a covered pot.
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    Bibliography

    Buy It! The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

    Buy It! Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

    Buy It! Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

    Buy It! The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

    Buy It! Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

    Buy It! Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

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