Woundwort
Parts Usually Used
The whole plant
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Woundwort is a low perennial plant to 1 foot tall; the slender, creeping rootstock produces ascending or procumbent stems which grow from 1-3 feet in height. These slightly hairy, square, grooved stems may be solitary or in clusters. Entire or slightly toothed, the petioled, opposite leaves are ovate to oblong-lanceolate in shape. Tubular and two-lipped, the tiny purple flowers grow in dense terminal spikes, blooming from May to October.
The fruit is an ovoid, smooth, angled nutlet. Other varieties: P. grandiflora, also called self-heal, grows to 1-1 1/2 feet tall, has much larger and showier purple or violet flowers; P. laciniata, has creamy white, occasionally violet-tinged flowers, and deeply cut leaves.
Where Found
Grows as a very common weed in open woods, lawns, fields, and waste places in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Medicinal Properties
Antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, bitter tonic, cholagogue, diuretic, styptic, vermifuge, vulnerary
Biochemical Information
Ursolic acid, essential oil, bitter principle, oleanolic acid, rutin, caffeic acid, hyperoside, vitamins A, C, B1, K and tannin
Legends, Myths and Stories
” The plant yields fiber dyes in shades ranging from soft yellow to brilliant gold. Woundwort is a highly regarded European wound herb, widely used to stop bleeding. In the past, the flower spikes were considered to resemble the throat, and under the Doctrine of Signatures theory, whereby plants cure those parts of the body that they most resemble, self-heal or woundwort was also used for inflammations of the mouth and throat.
” The leaves and young shoots are used by Western herbalists to stop bleeding and applied fresh in poultices as emergency first aid on clean cuts. Culpeper recommended them for “green” (fresh) wounds, suggesting that they would be ideal to “close the lips of them” in the days before stitches. There are other plants that are called woundwort; Stachys palustris, a cousin of the wood betony; and Stoneroot (Collinsonia canadensis) also called Hardrock, Horse-weed, Heal-all, Rich-weed, Ox-balm, Knob-root, also from the mint family, with greenish-yellow flowers of a peculiar balsamic fragrance.
Uses
Historically, herbalists administered an infusion of the plant for internal wounds, bleeding, and diarrhea, as well as for headaches, elevated blood pressure, fluid retention, fevers, and intestinal parasites. Externally, it was prepared as a wash or poultice for wounds, bruises, ulcers, and sores. Traditional practitioners also employed it as a gargle or mouthwash for throat irritation, bleeding gums, pharyngitis, stomatitis, and canker sores.
In Chinese folk tradition, a tea prepared from the flowering plant was regarded as cooling and was historically used to support the liver and circulation, to act as a diuretic for kidney complaints, and to address conjunctivitis, boils, and scrofula.
Warning
Always seek medical professional advice for abnormal uterine bleeding, bleeding gums, or blood in the urine. Avoid use if hypertensive.
Bibliography
, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. 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) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , West Nyack, NY, 1987. 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