Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
It has many common names, such as ale hoof, creeping jenny (although this name is often used to describe a member of the primrose family) creeping Charlie, tunhoof, cat’s foot.
It’s a member of what is variously called the mint, dead nettle or sage family of plants. I tend to go with mint, although Francis Rose uses dead nettle.
It’s scientific name for the mint family is Lamiaceae, or sometimes Labiateae.
A key characteristic of plants in the mint family is that they typically have a square stem and leaves growing in pairs opposite each other. Be aware that there are other plants with a 4 sided stem, an obvious example being nettles.
In the past ground ivy was used to flavour and clarify beer, hence the name ale hoof (where hoof is an Anglo-Saxon term for herb.
Tunhoof is a related name where tun is an Anglo-Saxon word for brew.
Ground ivy grows on chalk or heavy soils in woodlands, along rides, hedgerows, scrub, grassland, wasteland and in shaded gardens. The plant’s name is suggested of its growing habits. Typically it is growing along the ground.
It has reniform leaves (that is, kidney shaped) with a crenate margin. The margin is the edge of the leaf; crenate means that his round toothed edges.
The flowers come out between April and July. The flowers have a tubular calyx, and a corolla about 15 – 20mm across. They are generally purple (rarely pink). 2 to 4 flowers grow in a whorl (that is, from a central axis).
Ground ivy reproduces in 2 ways. One way is by cloning itself. Ground ivy has rhizomatus stolons where a rhizome is a modified stem that sends out roots and shoots from its stem (think reed mace/cat tail/bull rush). The other way it reproduces is sexually. Ground ivy is gynodioecious. This is where a plant is either male or female, but not both. Examples include nettles and willows. So a male nettle flower produces pollen and a female nettle has ovaries and ovules. Then we have gynodioecious where a plant is either female or hermaphroditic. Less than 1% of plants are gynodioecious.
Each flower produces 4 seeds which basically drop to the ground below the parent plant. Sometimes these seeds are moved by ants, this is called myrmecochory.
In herbal remedies
Property : Aromatic, Bitter, Saponin containing herb
Constituent :Â Flavonoids, Phenolic acid,Volatile oil, Saponin
Action : Expectorant, Anticatarrhal, Anti inflammatory, Astringent, Vulnerary, Diuretic, Stomachic
Indication: Chronic catarrh, Bronchitis, Sinusitis, Tinnitus
Ground ivy has a long history in herbal medicine. It is an astringent, so it causes tissue to contract and reduces bleeding. It is also an expectorant, diuretic and anti-inflammatory. Ground ivy tea has been used to treat catarrh, bronchitis, tinnitus, sinusitis, dyspepsia and piles!
One of my favourite woodland teas is ground ivy and nettle, a couple of leaves of each. It’s delicious!
There appears to be some evidence that ground ivy contains a chemical that can irritate the intestines and kidneys, so as always seek the advice of a qualified medical professional.
If you’re interested in wild plants, take a look at our Herbal Remedies course. You can see photos from previous courses on our Facebook page.
