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)
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
