The ground ivy plant has been used as a medicinal herb since the Middle Ages. Saint Hildegard, the German abbess of the order of St. Benedict, recommended this plant for respiratory conditions.
Healing Properties and Indications
The whole plant contains the bitter ingredients choline, phenolic acids, and tannin. It has expectorant and pectoral properties. Internal use is recommended for bronchial catarrh, chronic bronchitis, easing the expulsion secretions and reducing the congestion of the respiratory system. It also renders good results with bronchial asthma. In external use, it is recommended to treat wounds and hemorrhoids due to their vulnerary properties.
Ground Ivy Plant Scientific Facts
- Other names: Alehoof, cat’s paw, creeping Charlie, grill-over-the-ground, gillrun, hay maids, hedge maids, turnhoof.
- French: Lierre Terrestre.
- Spanish: Hiedra Terrestre.
- Environment: Humid soil, prairies, and bushes of Europe and America.
- Description: Vivacious plant of the Labiatae family, with ground stems, branches growing to 25 cm high, and violet, pink, or white flowers.
- Parts of the plant used medicinally: The flower clusters.
How to use Ground Ivy
- Infusion with 20-30 g of flower clusters per liter of water, drinking three or four hot cups a day, sweetened with honey.
- Fresh juice of the whole plant: a spoonful, three times a day.
- Compresses soaked in a decoction of 60 g of plant per liter of water, then applied on wounds and hemorrhoids.
REFERENCES
George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Ed. Francesc X. Gelabert. Vols. 1 San Fernando de Henares: Editorial Safeliz, 2000. 307. Print.
