Ground-ivy

Glechoma hederacea

Historical tradition – not medical advice, and no health or healing claims. more

Historical botanical drawing: Ground — Ground

Tradition (Hildegard's writings)

In Hildegard's tradition, ground-ivy was associated with the airways and the head.

Ingredients

The aerial parts, that is the flowering herb.

Note

Old manuscripts did not keep ground-ivy and asarabacca clearly apart, and scholars note that chapters belonging to one plant were handed down under the name of the other. Asarabacca, with its asarone-bearing essential oil, is an entirely different plant; the literature describes it as fiercely burning to the taste, irritating to the stomach and dangerous in larger amounts.

Botanical background

Ground-ivy, known in many places by its German name Gundermann, belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae). It stays low, at some ten to thirty centimetres, but throws out runners above ground that can exceed a metre and form roots; the long-stalked leaves are kidney-shaped with a heart-shaped base, and the upright shoots carry blue-violet flowers. Only the herb above ground is gathered. It holds a little essential oil together with tannins and bitter principles, glechomine, a trace of marrubiin, resin, wax and saponin; the sources also name ursolic, cinnamic and rosmarinic acid as well as bioflavonoids. Hildegard places ground-ivy among the plants of the first book of the Physica, calling it more warm than cold and dry, and dwells particularly on the virtue she saw in its greenness.

Sources & references

Strehlow, Wighard: Die Hildegard-Naturapotheke. Heilmittel und Rezepte von A bis Z. Knaur Verlag 2014.
Strehlow, Wighard: Der Hildegard-Kompass. Die wichtigsten Heilmittel und Anwendungen. Knaur Verlag 2014.
Hildegard von Bingen: Heilsame Schöpfung. Die natürliche Wirkkraft der Dinge (Physica). Hrsg. von der Abtei St. Hildegard, Eibingen. Beuroner Kunstverlag 2012 (4. Auflage 2024). Cap. 1-105.

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More preparations using Ground

Ground Ivy Compress Ground Ivy Elixir

Historical tradition. The above describes how this preparation was recorded and used in the tradition of Hildegard of Bingen. This is cultural-historical information, not medical advice and not a health or healing claim, and it is no substitute for advice from a doctor or pharmacist. If you have health complaints, please consult your doctor or pharmacy.

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