Alehoof or Ground-ivy.
Botanical name:
Hedera terrestris.
A LOW plant that creeps about hedges, and flowers in spring. The stalks are hollow and square, a foot or more in length; the leaves are roundish and notched at the edges: in spring they are usually of a purplish colour, and the flowers are blue; the leaves stand two at each joint, and the roots are fibrous. The whole plant has a peculiar and strong smell, it should be gathered when in flower.
It is an excellent vulnerary, outwardly or inwardly used; a conserve may be made of it in spring: and it may be given by way of tea. It is excellent in all disorders of the breast and lungs, and in those of the kidneys, and against bloody and foul urine.
