Botanical atlas

Alpine Woundwort

Stachys alpina

Stachys alpina belongs to a genus whose common English name, woundwort, tells its own story. For generations, country people across Europe reached for the soft, hairy leaves of various Stachys species and pressed them onto small cuts and scrapes as a simple field dressing, much the way one might use a plantain leaf today. Stachys alpina itself is a quieter, less written about cousin of the better known betony, Stachys officinalis, tucked into shady limestone banks and old hedgerows rather than cottage gardens. Its documented history is thinner than betony's, so it is remembered today more as a rare and lovely wild plant of the hedgebank than as a working household remedy.

In tradition.

Stachys alpina belongs to a genus whose common English name, woundwort, tells its own story. For generations, country people across Europe reached for the soft, hairy leaves of various Stachys species and pressed them onto small cuts and scrapes as a simple field dressing, much the way one might use a plantain leaf today. Stachys alpina itself is a quieter, less written about cousin of the better known betony, Stachys officinalis, tucked into shady limestone banks and old hedgerows rather than cottage gardens. Its documented history is thinner than betony's, so it is remembered today more as a rare and lovely wild plant of the hedgebank than as a working household remedy.

Safety.

Alpine woundwort has no established record of safe internal use, and handling the hairy fresh foliage can occasionally irritate sensitive skin. It is also rare and often legally protected in parts of its range, so avoid foraging it from the wild and choose garden-grown plants instead.