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 | Motherwort Other Names:
Botanical Name: Leonurus cardiaca
Family: N.O. Labiatae |
Description: |
It is distinguished from all other British labiates by the leaves, which are deeply and palmately cut into five lobes, or three-pointed segments, and by the prickly calyx-teeth of its flowers. When not in flower, it resembles Mugwort in habit.
From the perennial root-stock rise the square, stout stems, 2 to 3 feet high, erect and branched, principally below, the angles prominent. The leaves are very closely set, the radical ones on slender, long petioles, ovate, lobed and toothed, those on the stem, 2 to 3 inches long, petioled, wedge-shaped; the lower roundish, palmately five-lobed, the lobes trifid at the apex, the upper three-fid, coarsely serrate, reticulately veined, the veinlets prominent beneath, with slender, curved hairs. The uppermost leaves and bracts are very narrow and entire, or only with a tooth on each side, and bear in their axils numerous whorls of pinkish, or nearly white, sessile flowers, six to fifteen in a whorl. The corollas, though whitish on the outside, are stained with paler or darker purple within. They have rather short tubes and nearly flat upper lips, very hairy above, with long, woolly hairs. The two front stamens are the longest and the anthers are sprinkled with hard, shining dots.
The plant blossoms in August. It has rather a pungent odour and a very bitter taste. It is a dull green, the leaves paler below, pubescent, especially on the angles of the stem and the underside of the leaves, the hairs varying much in length and abundance.
The name of the genus, Leonurus, in Greek signifies a Lion's tail, from some fancied resemblance in the plant. |
Habitat: |
| Motherwort, the only British representative of the genus Leonurus, is a native of many parts of Europe, on banks and under hedges, in a gravelly or calcareous soil. It is often found in country gardens, where it was formerly grown for medicinal purposes, but it is rare to find it truly wild in England, and by some authorities it is not considered indigenous, but merely a garden escape. |
Cultivation: |
When once planted in a garden, Motherwort will soon increase if theseeds are permitted to scatter. It is perfectly hardy and needs no special soil, and the roots will continue for many years.
Seedlings should be planted about a foot apart. > |
Medicinal Usage: |
Diaphoretic, antispasmodic, tonic, nervine, emmenagogue. Motherwort is especially valuable in female weakness and disorders (hence the name), allaying nervous irritability and inducing quiet and passivity of the whole nervous system.
As a tonic, it acts without producing febrile excitement, and in fevers, attended with nervousness and delirium, it is extremely useful.
Old writers tell us that there is no better herb for strengthening and gladdening the heart, and that it is good against hysterical complaints, and especially for palpitations of the heart when they arise from hysteric causes, and that when made into a syrup, it will allay inward tremors, faintings, etc. There is no doubt it has proved the truth of their claims in its use as a simple tonic, not only in heart disease, neuralgia and other affections of the heart, but also in spinal disease and in recovery from fevers where other tonics are inadmissable.
In Macer's Herbal we find 'Motherwort' mentioned as one of the herbs which were considered all-powerful against 'wykked sperytis.'
The best way of giving it is in the form of a conserve, made from the young tops, says one writer. It may be given in decoctions, or a strong infusion, but is very unpleasant to take that way. The infusion is made from 1 OZ. of herb to a pint of boiling water, taken in wineglassful doses. |
Ancient Lore: |
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. |
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