Herb-Carpenter
Parts Usually Used
Leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Bugle is a popular perennial groundcover for shady spots; it has a squarish stem, topped in spring and summer with tight whorls of blue flowers. The leaves from the root are stalked, those from the stem, often tinged with blue, are stalkless. After the flowering comes the small, round blackish seeds. The root is composed of many strings, and spreads on the ground. Blooms in May to July.
Other varieties: Geneva bugle (A. genevensis) is a taller species with light green, oval, toothed leaves and blue flowers; Bronze ajuga (A. reptans var. atropurpurea) has blue flowers and bronze leaves; A. reptans var. multicolor) with red, brown, and yellow foliage; Red bugle (A. reptans var. rubra) has dark purple foliage with pink flowers; and (A. reptans var. varigata) with leaves splotched and bordered with cream and blue flowers.
The white flowered bugle differs by being an evergreen, the leaves and stalks are always green, never brown. Not so plentiful as the common blue flowered plant.
Where Found
Herb-Carpenter is a common plant, which grows in damp woods and meadows.
Medicinal Properties
Narcotic
Legends, Myths and Stories
The roots of bugle produces a black dye.
Uses
Historical herbalists regarded this plant as a mild narcotic and digestive aid, traditionally employing it to soothe upset stomachs. Herbal traditions frequently recommended bruised leaf poultices and topical ointments for cuts, bruises, wounds, sores, ulcers, and broken bones. Practitioners also utilized decoctions of the leaves and flowers as cough remedies and to address hangovers, while decoctions prepared with wine were traditionally believed to assist with bruised tissue.
Preparations were further applied historically for mouth sores and bleeding gums, and a syrup made from the herb was administered in traditional practice to address insomnia.
Warning
This herb is a narcotic. Take at short intervals only and then under medical supervision.
Bibliography
, Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc.
, 1974