Glechoma hederacea

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Leaves - tea, Spice, Flowers

Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They have a bitter flavour with a slight aromatic tang that works well mixed into salads, and they can also be cooked like spinach, added to soups, or used as a flavouring. The leaves are available very early in the year. A herb tea is made from fresh or dried leaves, often blended with verbena leaves. Historically, the herb was added to beer in much the same way as hops — to clear it and improve both flavour and keeping quality — and was the most common beer flavouring before hops came into widespread use from the 16th century onwards.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows on heavy, damp soils. It grows in warmer temperate areas. It suits plant hardiness zones 4-9.

Asia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Bosnia, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Europe, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, North America, Norway, Russia, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South America, Spain, Switzerland, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, USA,

How to Identify

A herb. It has a creeping ivy-like growth habit. It creeps along the ground. It grows 15 cm high and spreads 2 m wide. The stems are square. They root at the nodes. The leaves are greyish-green. They have a crinkly edge and are hairy. They are heart shaped. The leaves occur in pairs. The flowers are purple blue. There are 5 petals which are fused together. The 2 lower lips are covered with white dots. It has a mint like smell when the leaves are crushed.

Nutrition Score: 36/100

How to Grow

Prefers a heavy soil and dappled shade. Prefers a moist well-drained soil, succeeding in sun or shade. A very invasive plant, spreading freely at the roots. A good bee plant. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water.

Propagation: Seed can be sown in situ as soon as ripe or in spring. Divide clumps in spring or autumn — larger divisions can go straight into permanent positions, while smaller clumps are best potted up and grown on in a cold frame until well rooted before planting out in spring.

Medicinal Uses

Ground ivy is a safe and effective herb used to treat problems involving the mucous membranes of the ear, nose, throat, and digestive system. It is well tolerated and can be given to children to clear lingering catarrh and to manage chronic conditions such as glue ear and sinusitis. Throat and chest complaints, particularly those involving excess catarrh, also respond well. The leaves and flowering stems are anodyne, antiphlogistic, appetizer, astringent, digestive, diuretic, febrifuge, pectoral, gently stimulant, tonic, and vermifuge. They are best harvested in May while still fresh and can be dried for later use. The leaves are used to treat hypersensitivity in children and are helpful for kidney disorders and indigestion. Applied externally, the expressed juice is said to speed the healing of bruises and black eyes. Use with caution.

Other Uses

Makes a good ground cover plant for shady positions, though it is quite vigorous and can overwhelm smaller plants.

Glechoma hederacea is an aromatic, perennial, evergreen creeper of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin. It is also sometimes known as creeping jenny, but that name more commonly refers to Lysimachia nummularia. It is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has become a well-established introduced and naturalized plant in a wide variety of localities. It is also considered an aggressive invasive weed of woodlands and lawns in some parts of North America. In the absence of any biological control research conducted by the USDA, herbicides are relied upon (despite their drawbacks) particularly for woodland ecosystems. The plant's extensive root system makes it difficult to eradicate by hand-pulling.

Notes

There are 10-12 Glechoma species. It is used in medicine. It has become a weed in the USA and Canada. Chemical composition: volatile oil = 1.8%. Rich in menthone and limonene.

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