Ground Ivy
Parts Usually Used
Leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Creeping, ivy-like perennial. Leaves scallop-edged, round to kidney-shaped; sometimes tinged with purple. Two-lipped violet flowers, in whorls of leaf axils; March to July.
Where Found
Roadsides, lawns. Throughout Unites States
Medicinal Properties
Astringent
Uses
Historically, herbal traditions utilized a tea made from the leaves for respiratory complaints, including lung ailments, sinusitis, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and asthma, as well as for jaundice, kidney complaints, and as a general blood purifier. Folk practitioners also applied it externally for backaches, bruises, and piles.
Warning
Reportedly toxic to horses.
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.
(Out of print) The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974