Ground - Ivy

It is also called cat's-foot, alehoof, gill-go-by-ground, and gill-creep-by ground, turnhoof, hay- maid's, and jack-by-the-hedge. Ground ivy creeps upon the ground, sends forth the roots at the corners of tender jointed stalks, and has two round leaves at every joint, crumpled, and dented about the edges. The stalks are hollow and square, a foot or more in length. It has hollow long flowers of a blueish purple colour, with small white spots upon the lips which hang down. The root is small and fibrous. It is found under hedges, and on the sides of ditches, in shady lanes, and waste grounds. The plant has a peculiar smell; it flowers early, and it should be gathered when in flower.

It is known to be gently stimulant, and tonic, aperient, diuretic, and corroborant, with a particular action on the lungs and kidneys, and it has long been a popular remedy for coughs, pulmonary complaints, and urinary affections. A conserve of it may be made in spring, and it may be made into tea. The expressed juice snuffed up the nose is curative of headache, when all other medicines have failed.

It may also be taken with great benefit, conjoined with elecampane leaves, liquorice root, equal quantities, infused in boiling water. It is a very good remedy for inward wounds, for colic, griping pains, and the yellow jaundice, by removing obstructions of the gall and liver; it removes melancholy by opening the spleen. A decoction of it in wine is good for sciatica, or hip-gout, and for gout in the hands, feet, and other joints. If some honey, and a little burnt alum be added to the decoction, it is useful as a gargle for a sore mouth or throat. The juice boiled with honey and a little verdigrease, cleanses fistulas, and ulcers. The juice of celandine, of field daisies, and of ground ivy clarified with a little sugar dissolved therein, and dropped into the eyes, is a sovereign remedy for inflammation, watery humours; and dropped into the ear, it is good for deafness.