Self Heal

Also known as Carpenter's Herb, Sticklewort, Touch and Heal, All Heal, Woundwort, Hercules' Woundwort, Blue Curl's, Brownwort and Hock Heal.

From the family Labiatae.

This herb is found growing wild throughout all the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia and North America. In strict 16th century adherence to the Doctrine of Signatures, whereby it was believed that every plant bore an outward sigh of its value to mankind, people noted that the upper lip of the flower was shaped like a hook, and as billhooks and sickles were a main cause of wounds in their agrarian society, they decided that the purpose of the herb was to heal wounds, hence Selfheal. They also saw the shape of the throat in the flower, which was why it was introduced to treat diseases of the troat such as quinsy and diphtheria, a propensity with a precendent in Ancient Greece, where physicians used it to cure sore throats and tonsillitis.

Dry the leaves and flowers when required.