ALCHEMILLA VULGARIS

COMMON NAME : Lady’s Mantle

FAMILY  :        Roseaceae   (Rose family)

HABIT / GROWING:

Native to UK and Europe but prefers high &/or cold places but moist ground found in the Highlands and beyond Arctic circle.

PARTS USED:        

Flowers, flowering shoots, whole herb even sometimes the root, mainly collected in high summer.

TRADITIONAL & MODERN USE:

Associated with Virgin Mary and leaves supposed to look like a cape. The name Alchemilla comes from Arabic – same root as alchemy – the dewdrops from the leaves were supposed to have mystic powers. Also calledLeontopodium (lion’s foot) in medieval Latin texts.

Culpeper used Lady’s Mantle as a wound herb for inflammation, bruises, ruptures, inside and out, fresh or festering and for stopping any bleeding or vomiting.

More recently it has been seen as a cure for excessive menstruation, taken as infusion and as a douche for treating vaginal discharge. It also seems to have an alterative effect on menstrual cycle, taken internally, i.e. it has a regulating effect and can be used where flow is too scant as well as excessive.

The astringent property is also therapeutic for stopping diarrhoea.