Wood betony
Stachys officinalis, most commonly known as Wood Betony, also goes by woundwort, bishopwort, or common Hedgenettle. Other botanical names it has gone by are Stachys betonica and Betonica officinalis. Wood betony belongs to the Labiatae or Lamiaceae family which is commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. It is related to lamb’s ear or Wooly betony (Stachys byzantina). Wood betony is native to Europe, west Africa, Scandinavia and parts of Russia and Ukraine and is naturalized in many parts of the world.
Wood betony is an herbaceous perennial to Zone 4. It does best in full sun to part shade and prefers a well drained, dry soil with a pH of 6.5-7.5 It is best grown near the back of a flower bed or as a high border. It will grow 2-3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Their leaves are about 5 inches long, spearhead-shaped with scalloped edges and slightly hairy. Their stem is reddish and also hairy. Their flowers are a bright blue to red-purple and are arranged in whorls on the top of spikes that come from the base of the plant. It will bloom in July to August. Wood betony is a favorite of the bees and butterflies.
When planting Wood betony, make sure to space plants 12-24 inches apart. They will grow in clumps but it will not spread. It does produce new plants on the edge of their clumps but not at a distance. It is best to divide your main clump every 3 years during the fall and after their leaves have died back. This helps to keep up their medicinal qualities. You can do this by simply quartering the clump and leaving one of the quarters in place. To propagate, you can take your divisions and make small clumps of leaves with roots. Trim the roots to 3 inches and put them in a 4 inch pot. You can also check for volunteer seedlings from your mother plants in the spring.
Wood betony’s leaves are used medicinally. They are slightly bitter and nutritive. The leaves are best harvested in the spring before the plant flowers. But they can really be collected throughout the season as long as they look fresh and vibrant. If you plan to dry your harvest the fresh to dry herb ratio is 3:6:1. A dark yellow dye can also be made with the plant.
Wood betony grows very easily from seed and will self sow. Its seeds can be collected by upending the dry flower spikes into a bucket and giving them a good shake. You will get about 700 seeds per gram. You can sow the seeds directly in the fall or spring. To do so, barely cover the seeds and then tamp well. Water them well until they germinate. They should germinate in about 2-3 weeks.
Wood betony has been used for hundreds of years. It was appreciated by the ancient Greeks, the Romans and the Anglo-saxons. It was thought to help with at least 47 diseases. Betony means “head herb” and was traditionally used for headaches, giddiness, dizziness and hearing difficulties. It was an ingredient in “Rowley’s British Herb snuff” along with eyebright and coltsfoot, which was either smoked or used as a snuff for headaches. The French recommended Betony for lung, liver, gallbladder and spleen problems. It was used traditionally to protect against witchcraft, demonic possession and other supernatural problems.
From an excerpt in The Herbalist Almanac: “…it preserveth the lives and bodies of men, free from the danger of diseases, and from witchcrafts also…it helpeth those that either loath or cannot digest their meate (food), those that have weake stomackes, or have sower belchings, or continuall risings in their stomacke, if they use it familiarly either greene or dry, either the herbe, the roote or the flowers, in broth drunke, or meate, made into conserve, syrupe, electuary, water, or powder…-it is sayd also to hinder drunkennesse, being taken before hand, and quickly to expell it afterwards: a dramme of the powder of Betonie taken with a little hony; in some vinegar, doth wonderfully refresh those that are overwearied by travaile.”
Today, Wood betony is still an herb of choice to be used in formulas for headaches. It is also still used as a bitter tonic to help stimulate digestion and support weak digestive systems and as a carminative to help dispel gas and cramping of the digestive tract.
Wood betony’s nervine properties help to relax tension in the muscles while providing nourishment and strength to the nerves. It is also helpful for back pain and tension, facial pain, nerve and muscle pain and tension. Wood betony has cooling, relaxing, and drying properties. It helps with overactive and stressed minds and can ease the tension in one’s thoughts and emotions. It is also good for anxiety and PMS.
Wood betony is also known as woundwort. Applied topically, it can stop bleeding, promote healing and draw out boils and splinters. It supports recuperation from traumatic injury, operations and procedures, wounds, contusions and broken bones.
The tincture has been used to support drug and alcohol rehabilitation. We have found it useful for headaches and helpful if someone is going through opiate withdrawals. It reduced their anxiety and panic which was usually a symptom for them. A suggested tincture formula made with the dried leaf would be 1:5 with 50-60% alcohol or with the fresh leaf would be 1:2-1:4, herb:menstruum. They can take up to 3 ml, 3x a day. An infusion can also be taken as one cup, 3x a day.
Wood betony is an analgesic, nervine, astringent/vulnerary, bitter tonic, carminative and an antispasmodic. It mainly works with the nervous system and digestive system. Its main constituents are tannins (to 15%), saponines, glucosides and alkaloids (bettonicine, stachydrine, trigonelline). One of its constituents, trigonelline, which is also in fenugreek, has been shown to lower blood sugar levels. Wood betony does have a slight stimulant effect on the uterus so it is best to avoid it during pregnancy.
References: The Illustrated Herb Encyclopedia, Kathi Keville, p 180-81. The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, Thomas Easley and Steven Horne, p 324. The Herbalist Almanac, A 50 Year Anthology, Clarence Meyer, p 29. Growing Plant Medicine, Volume 2, Richo Chech and Sena Chech, p 180. The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, Materia medica monthly (members only), Saja Popham, 2018
Wood betony plants are available for purchase in our shop
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This product is intended for ornamental use only*
