Betonica officinalis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Genus: | Betonica |
Species: | B. officinalis |
Binomial name | |
Betonica officinalis | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Betonica officinalis, common name betony [2] [3] [4] is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. [1] Other vernacular names include wood betony, [5] common hedgenettle, [6] purple betony, bishopwort, or bishop's wort.
It was until recently usually included in the genus Stachys as its synonym Stachys officinalis, [7] but Betonica was separated at genus rank from Stachys when a detailed examination showed clear consistent differences in both the foliage and flowers, valid at a higher rank than the previous treatment as just a subgenus. [8] This has been confirmed by genetic study, which shows Betonica is separate from Stachys and more closely related to the hemp-nettles Galeopsis . [9]
The Latin specific epithet officinalis refers to plants which had a culinary or medicinal use. [10]
Betonica officinalis is a rhizotomous, patch-forming, grassland herbaceous perennial growing to 30–60 cm (12–24 in) tall. Its leaves are stalked on upright stems, narrowly oval, with a heart-shaped base, with a somewhat wrinkled texture and toothed margins. The calyx is 5–7 mm long, with 5 teeth, edged with bristles. The corolla 1–1.5 cm long. Its upper lip flat, almost straight when seen from the side. The anthers stick straight out. It flowers in mid summer from July to September, and is found in dry grassland, meadows and open woods in most of Europe, western Asia and North Africa. [11] [7] In the British Isles it is common in England and Wales, but scarce in southern Scotland and rare in Ireland and northern Scotland. [2]
The aerial parts contain phenylethanoid glycosides betonyosides A-F, acetoside, acetoside isomer, campneosides II, forsythoside B, and leucosceptoside B. [12] The roots contain the diterpene glycosides betonicosides A-D and the diterpene betonicolide. [13]
In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder claims betony was "a plant more highly esteemed than any other", and documents a popular belief that merely possessing betony would protect a house from harm. Pliny also states it was discovered by the Vettones of Spain, hence the Gaulish name for the plant, Vettonica. [14]
De herba Vettonica liber, a book originally attributed to Antonius Musa but now thought to have been written in the 4th century, [15] lists nearly 50 uses for the plant. These include easing of pain and fever after childbirth, prevention of drunkenness, against snake and mad dog bites, curing of various pains, and against horrors. Pseudo-Musa also claims the herb was discovered by either the Greek god of medicine Aesculapius or the centaur Chiron. [16]
Information about and uses for betony are compiled in Chapter 232 of John Gerard's 1597 Herball, or, Generall historie of plantes. Properties ascribed to it include help for those with "the falling sickness", cramps, ague, jaundice, and sciatica, clearing of the lungs, chest, liver, and gallbladder, killing of worms, and breakage of kidney stones, among many others. [17]
In his 1652 work The English physitian, Nicholas Culpeper called it Wood-Betony to contrast it from Water-Betony, but noted it was also called Common Betony. He observed that "Bettony that grows in the shadow is far better than that which grows in the Sun, because it delights in the shadow". [18] He mentions Antonius Musa as a source. His summary of uses for betony is vast, and reflects influence from Pseudo-Musa and the same tradition as Gerard: " Epidemical Diseases, Witchcraft, Apetite, Indigestion, Stomach, Belching, Jaundice, Falling-sickness, Palsey, Convulsion, Shrinking of the Sinews, Gout, Dropsie, Frensie, Cough, Cold, Shortness of Breath, Agues of all sorts, Sore Eyes, Worms, Obstructions of the Liver and Spleen, Stitches, Pains in the Back and Belly, Terms provokes, Mother, Childbirth Stone, Toothache, Venemous Beasts, Mad-dogs, Weariness, Bleeding at Mouth and Nose, Pissing & spitting of Blood, Ruptures, Bruises, Wounds, Veins and Sinews Cut, Ulcers, Fistulaes, Boyls, Ears." Culpeper classifies betony under the planet Jupiter and the sign Aries. [5]
A Welsh prescription attributed to the Physicians of Myddfai ascribes dream-controlling properties to betony, advising hanging its leaves around the neck or drinking the juice before sleep. [19]
The plant was commonly grown by monks and apothecaries for medicinal purposes, hence the specific epithet officinalis which indicates use for medicinal or culinary purposes. [10]
Betony was an ingredient of Pistoia powder, an old remedy for arthritis and gout. [20]
Betony is among the herbs possibly used by the Druids to make wine and holy water. [21]
12 Prairial in the French Republican calendar is dedicated to betony.
Betony has also been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea, or externally as compresses or baths for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, skin and gynecological problems.[ citation needed ]
Modern herbalists prescribe betony to treat anxiety, gallstones, heartburn, high blood pressure, migraine and neuralgia, and to prevent sweating. It can also be used as an ointment for cuts and sores.[ citation needed ]
The Lamiaceae or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs, trees, or, rarely, vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as Salvia hispanica (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as Plectranthus edulis, Plectranthus esculentus, Plectranthus rotundifolius, and Stachys affinis. Many are also grown ornamentally, notably coleus, Plectranthus, and many Salvia species and hybrids.
Valerian is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. In the summer when the mature plant may have a height of 1.5 metres, it bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many fly species, especially hoverflies of the genus Eristalis. It is consumed as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the grey pug.
Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times it has been used as an ornamental garden plant. The common name "sage" is also used for closely related species and cultivars.
Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer. His book The English Physitian is a source of pharmaceutical and herbal lore of the time, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick (1655) one of the most detailed works on medical astrology in Early Modern Europe. Culpeper catalogued hundreds of outdoor medicinal herbs. He scolded contemporaries for some of the methods they used in herbal medicine: "This not being pleasing, and less profitable to me, I consulted with my two brothers, Dr. Reason and Dr. Experience, and took a voyage to visit my mother Nature, by whose advice, together with the help of Dr. Diligence, I at last obtained my desire; and, being warned by Mr. Honesty, a stranger in our days, to publish it to the world, I have done it."
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, felonwort, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them. A herbal may also classify the plants it describes, may give recipes for herbal extracts, tinctures, or potions, and sometimes include mineral and animal medicaments in addition to those obtained from plants. Herbals were often illustrated to assist plant identification.
Borage, also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts are edible and its seeds provide oil.
Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300, to about 450. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.
Cochlearia is a genus of about 30 species of annual and perennial herbs in the family Brassicaceae. They are widely distributed in temperate and arctic areas of the northern hemisphere, most commonly found in coastal regions, on cliff-tops and salt marshes where their high tolerance of salt enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants; they also occur in alpine habitats in mountains and tundra.
Primula veris, the cowslip, common cowslip, or cowslip primrose, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. The species is native throughout most of temperate Europe and western Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney and in Scandinavia. This species frequently hybridizes with other Primulas such as the common primrose Primula vulgaris to form false oxlip which is often confused with true oxlip, a much rarer plant.
Sanguisorba is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common name is burnet.
Euphrasia, or eyebright, is a genus of about 215 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are hemiparasitic on grasses and other plants. The common name refers to the plant's use in treating eye infections.
Veronica officinalis, the heath speedwell, common gypsyweed, common speedwell, or Paul's betony, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and is widely naturalised there.
Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is a perennial herb native to Europe. It grows up to 70 cm high, with an upright habitus. The lobed leaves are toothed, and the delicate spikes hold clusters of two-lipped mauve flowers.
Pseudo-Apuleius is the name given in modern scholarship to the author of a 4th-century herbal known as Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius or Herbarium Apuleii Platonici. The author of the text apparently wished readers to think that it was by Apuleius of Madaura (124–170 CE), the Roman poet and philosopher, but modern scholars do not believe this attribution. Little or nothing else is known of Pseudo-Apuleius.
Tanacetum balsamita is a perennial temperate herb known as costmary, alecost, balsam herb, bible leaf, or mint geranium.
Stachys byzantina, the lamb's-ear or woolly hedgenettle, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. It is cultivated throughout much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escapee from gardens. Plants are very often found under the synonym Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica.
Geranium molle, the dove's-foot crane's-bill or dovesfoot geranium, is an annual herbaceous plant of the family Geraniaceae.
Phlomoides tuberosa, the sage-leaf mullein, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia; SW Asia and Europe. Enlarged, tuberous roots give rise to erect stems to 150 cm bearing purple-red flowers.