 |
MOTHERWORT LEONURUS CARDIACA There is no better herb to take melancholy vapours from the heart and to strengthen it. A perennial plant growing to three or four feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) high, with spreading branches, deeply indented leaves and hooded, red or pinkish flowers. It is a member of the Dead-nettle family. Where to find it: Roadside verges and waste ground, where it has escaped from herb gardens. Flowering time: Late summer. Astrology: Venus owns this herb and it is under Leo. Medicinal virtues: It makes mothers joyful and settles the womb; that is why it is called Motherwort. It is of use for trembling of the heart, and fainting and swooning. It may be kept in syrup or as a conserve. A spoonful of the powder, drank in wine, helps women in sore travail. It provokes the urine and women's courses, cleanses the chest of cold phlegm and kills worms in the belly. It helps cramps and convulsions. Modern uses: A heart tonic for angina pectoris, it also helps to lower blood pressure. It regulates circulatory disturbances during the menopause, such as palpitations. It is a sedative, inducing tranquillity in simple anxiety or when there is restlessness during fevers. In this it resembles the action of Valerian root. It regulates menstruation, encouraging the monthly flow when it is scanty, and eases painful periods. The herb is collected in late summer and dried. The powdered herb is given as an infusion in doses Of 2 fl OZ (56 ml). Tinctures and liquid extracts are available from herbalists. |