Stachys palustris, Clowns Woundwort

Woundwort, Clown’s All-Heal, Purple-flowered Woundwort, Marsh Betony
Panax Coloni, Panax Heracleum Alterum (Latin)
Guang Ye Shui Su (TCM)

Salmon, Botanologia, 1710

Stachys palustris
(«Bilder ur Nordens Flora», Lindman, 1917) (Wikimedia)

Stachys palustris
(Photo by Kenraiz) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Stachys palustris
S. sylvatica is Hedge Woundwort, used synonymously.

Parts used:

Whole herb or Root

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, dry. (Regarded as mildly Warm in the West)

Uses:

1. Clears Heat, Moves the Blood, Stops Bleeding: (West, TCM)
-all types of Wounds, internally and externally; Pain and Swelling from Trauma (West, TCM)
-Hernia
-Wounds, Ulcers and Sores of the Kidneys or Bladder (Saline Tincture)
-Dysentery with Blood (West, TCM)
-Vomiting or Spitting Blood, Blood in the Urine (West, TCM)
-also Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea

2. Clears Heat, Resists Poison, Resolves Masses: (West, TCM)
-Throat Pain and Inflammation
-Lung or Breast Abscess (TCM)
-Whooping Cough
-Running Sores, Chronic Sores and Ulcers, Fistulas (Salmon)
-Cancers; ‘destroys the Cancerous humor’ (Salmon)

3. Settles Wind, Stops Spasms, Calms the Mind:
-Spasms, Cramps
-Nervousness
-Vertigo, Epilepsy
-Insomnia

4. Externally:
-Powder is applied to Wounds
-Plaster applied to Hernias
-Herpes Zoster (TCM)

Dose:

Powder: 1–3 grams
Decoction (half-water, half-wine): 3–9 grams
Of the Juice: 2–4 oz. in wine

Main Combinations:

1. Wounds, Ulcers of the Kidneys or Bladder, Clown’s Woundwort, Parsley
2. Hernia:
i. The Herb Syrup taken internally with a Plaster of the herb topically (Culpeper)
ii. Clown’s Woundwort, Comfrey root, Marshmallow root, Mistletoe (equal parts). (Crompton, The Medical Herbalist)
3. Aneurism, Varicose veins, a plaster made with the thickened juice and powder of Clown’s Woundwort, Frankincense, Comfrey and Olive oil (Salmon)

Major Formulas:

Cautions:

None noted