A Treasure in Your Backyard?

Have you ever smelled the super-strong, almost pun­gent smell after some­one has mowed the grass? Ground ivy is most like­ly the cul­prit. Despite its fra­grant smell, ground ivy makes a tasty tea. This vit­a­min C‑packed won­der is just wait­ing to nour­ish your body. Local­ly har­vest­ed herbs help us fight the native pathogens more effec­tive­ly. Har­vest ground ivy and expe­ri­ence for your­selves this won­der­ful herb.

I’m Thankful for This “Invasive” Weed

I have known about this “weed” for years.  I had no idea until now how tru­ly valu­able this herb is.  Most peo­ple see this herb as an inva­sive weed, des­per­ate­ly try­ing to rip it out of their lawns and flower gar­dens.  I am so thank­ful that I har­vest­ed so much of this weed last spring.  Ground ivy is in the mint fam­i­ly as it has that tell-tale square stem and oth­er mint-like qual­i­ties. 

Brought to Us Long Ago By European Settlers

Euro­pean set­tlers inten­tion­al­ly brought ground ivy (also known as creep­ing Char­lie) to North Amer­i­ca for its culi­nary and med­i­c­i­nal uses. It was val­ued as a fla­vor­ful ingre­di­ent in beer before the wide­spread use of hops and as a med­i­c­i­nal herb for var­i­ous ail­ments. Ground ivy was also used as a ton­ic and for treat­ing con­di­tions like gout, coughs, colds, and skin prob­lems.   

Rescue Remedy

Ground ivy can be used to reverse the effects of sting­ing net­tle, join­ing the pow­er­ful jew­el weed and bur­dock root.   All we have to do is mac­er­ate the fresh leaves and rub them on the affect­ed skin.  Relief is imme­di­ate.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties

 I would try it out on insect stings. In tra­di­tion­al and herbal med­i­cine prac­tices, ground ivy is some­times sug­gest­ed as a rem­e­dy for insect bites. Ground ivy con­tains chem­i­cals that help reduce swelling. This prop­er­ty could con­tribute to its effects on insect bites. 

Poultice Application

The fresh leaves of ground ivy can be bruised and applied top­i­cal­ly as a poul­tice to the affect­ed area. This is believed to help soothe and ease the dis­com­fort caused by insect bites.

The Lymphatic and Diuretic Assistant

Ground ivy is believed to sup­port the lym­phat­ic sys­tem pri­mar­i­ly through its tra­di­tion­al use as a diuret­ic and lym­phat­ic herb. Herbal med­i­c­i­nal prac­tices rec­om­mend com­bin­ing a diuret­ic with a lym­phat­ic agent. This allows for effi­cient flu­id removal. Con­ve­nient­ly, Ground ivy cov­ers them both! Here is how it all works!

The Science of It

Ground ivy’s diuret­ic prop­er­ty assists in mov­ing flu­ids towards the kid­neys, which helps to drain the lym­phat­ic sys­tem. This diuret­ic action, when com­bined with its lym­phat­ic sup­port, allows for more effi­cient flu­id removal. I love this her­b’s dual-action com­po­nents.

Pro­mot­ing Lym­phat­ic Drainage: Ground ivy drains the con­gest­ed lymph, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the upper body, such as your neck. It is specif­i­cal­ly effec­tive at break­ing down lym­phat­ic con­ges­tion in the neck and breast.

Address­ing Stag­na­tion: Con­sum­ing ground Ivy alle­vi­ates headaches that arise from flu­id stag­na­tion in the sinus­es and ears. This is relat­ed to its action as a dry­ing and drain­ing herb tar­get­ing the lym­phat­ic chan­nels of the ear-nose-throat (ENT) region.

Upper-Body Lym­phat­ic Action: Ground ivy is an upper-body lym­phat­ic herb, mean­ing it pri­mar­i­ly exerts its effects on the lym­phat­ic ves­sels in the neck and above. It may also have some action in the chest and breast, poten­tial­ly assist­ing with con­di­tions like mas­ti­tis.

Nutrient List

Here is a list of the chem­i­cal and nutri­ent con­tent of ground ivy.

• Bit­ter prin­ci­ple
• Amino Acids
• Choline
• Essen­tial oil
• Flavone gly­co­sides
• Lac­tone
• Lipids
• Pro­tein
• Resin
• Saponins
• Tan­nins
• Vit­a­min C
• Wax
• Volatile oils- linalool, limonene, men­thone, ter­pi­ne­ol, alpha-pinene, pule­gone, ros­marinic acid

Medicinal Characteristics of Ground Ivy

This plant yields these char­ac­ter­is­tics

• Antibac­te­r­i­al
• Anti-Catarrhal
• Antivi­ral
• Anti­sep­tic
• Astrin­gent
• Expec­to­rant
• Diuret­ic
• Anti-inflam­ma­to­ry
• Pre­vents and treats lead and mer­cury poi­son­ing
• Treats diges­tive dis­or­ders
• Treats Sci­at­i­ca
• It can help rid all sorts of eye trou­bles
• Helps with ear­aches
• Helps with colds, flu, and coughs
• Treats injuries and wounds

Ground Ivy has many valu­able attrib­ut­es.  This ver­sa­tile herb can be used as a tea, tinc­ture, poul­tice, and as a food.  I love that Yahuah gave us this pow­er­ful herb.  I hope this spring, you too will be able to har­vest and ben­e­fit from this valu­able herb. 

Hap­py herballing!

©Jen­nifer Wal­lace 2020

https://herbs.motherearthliving.com/ground-ivy-glechoma-springing-up-in-your-yards

http://www.wildplantguide.co.uk

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/health-benefits-ground-ivy

Ground Ivy: Herb of the Week

https://ayushology.com/health-benefits-of-herbs/health-benefits-of-ground-ivy

https://elmaskincare.com/herbs/herbs_ground_ivy.htm