Wood betony, often known simply as betony, was a significant remedy from ancient times. A Roman physician wrote a whole book extolling its virtues, and it was the herb of choice for exorcising demons and protection against all kinds of evil in the Middle Ages.
Wood betony is a nerve tonic, and through its action on the solar plexus has a wide range of benefits, especially on the digestion. It also improves circulation, and is excellent for the elderly.
Lamiaceae (Labiatae) Deadnettle family
Description: A perennial up to 50cm tall, with bluntly toothed leaves in a rosette, and bright magenta flowers.
Habitat: Hedgerows, heaths, grassy places and woodland clearings.
Distribution: Common in Wales and England except for East Anglia, very rare in Scotland and Ireland.
Related species: There are five other Stachys species in the British Isles, all known as woundworts, but not currently used much medicinally. The most common of these is hedge woundwort (S. sylvatica).
Identification: Wood betony can look like a purple orchid, but is easily distinguished from any other plant by its type of toothed leaves, which are unique.
Parts used: Leaves and flowers.
Wood betony is another herb that does so much that it is hard to know where to start in writing about it. It is a pretty, orchid-like but easily overlooked plant, and, appropriately, works quietly to improve health over a broad front.
As a herbal all-rounder it was well known to the ancients. Culpeper (1653) relates that Antonius Musa, physician to Emperor Augustus, wrote a monograph on betony, with 47 different conditions it would treat, among them protection from both snakes and evil.
Anne Pratt, a prolific mid-nineteenth-century botanist, writes that betony was still highly valued in Italy. She quotes two Italian proverbs: ‘May you have more virtues than betony’, as a farewell to a friend, and ‘Sell your coat, and buy betony’, for those in pain.
John Parkinson (1640) sums up the reputation of betony in his own day, neatly indicating the link he valued of ‘daily experience’ and the authority of the ancients:
it is found by daily experience, as Dioscorides formerly wrote thereof, to be good for innumerable diseases.
Betony was venerated by the Celts, and its common name is thought to be a corruption of two Celtic words: ‘bew’ for head, and ‘ton’ for improve, making clear its power to cure head problems.
Throughout the Middle Ages this was a herb cultivated in monastic gardens and graveyards, for protection against witchcraft. Amulets of betony would be worn around the neck or placed under the pillow for personal protection.
It could be that betony’s old reputation as a protector stems from its ability to help us face the fears and evils in our own minds. The Grete Herball (1526) made sure by combining a betony remedy with wine ‘for them that ben to ferfull’:
gyue two dragmes of powdre hereof wt warme water and as moche wyne at the tyme that the fere cometh.
Use wood betony for…
Perhaps this echo of magic and folklore has swayed many classically trained herbalists against betony, and some modern writers are dismissive of its efficacy. We see it as a herb, like St John’s wort or vervain, that meets ever-changing physical and spiritual needs.
Today it is best known as a nerve tonic, which strengthens the entire nervous system. Betony calms and relaxes, helping release stress and tension from both mind and body.
It is an excellent herb for insomnia stemming from nervous tension, where endless thoughts keep churning and you just can’t let go and relax. Have a cup of the tea or a few drops of the tincture in the evening for deep relaxation, followed by a restorative sleep.
Betony was once used to treat madness, and can still have a useful role in some psychiatric disorders. Herbalists favour it for people coming off addictive drugs or recovering from head injuries.
Betony is beneficial for several kinds of headache, including tension, migraine and liverish types. It helps when there is a feeling of spaciness and unconnectedness as well as in cases of frantic mental activity and scattered thoughts.
Because betony affects the solar plexus, it assists in a wide range of digestive problems, harmonising the action of the entire digestive tract. It is helpful both when anxiety, irritability or depression are affecting the digestion, or digestive upsets are upsetting the mind.
Betony stimulates a weak digestive tract but also soothes and calms it. It is helpful when there is irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, colitis and other conditions with inflammation and tension in the gut. It is the perfect remedy for ‘butterflies in the stomach’ and for reconnecting us to ‘gut instincts’. When we are ‘too much in our heads’, it can bring us down to earth, to a more grounded level of reaction and feeling.
Betony also improves concentration and memory, which, combined with its calming qualities, makes it a good choice during examinations or other stressful times in our lives when we need to be able to focus and concentrate.
With effects on memory, circulation and digestion, betony is an ideal herb for older people or anyone recovering from longterm illness. It will gently warm and invigorate the whole system, increasing mental and physical strength. It improves the appetite and supports those who are too thin in regaining healthy weight.
Betony increases tone throughout the body, so can assist with prolapses of the uterus and other organs. It is used for weak labour, excessive menstrual bleeding, poor respiration, debility, and liver and gallbladder problems.
Like self-heal, wood betony is a good choice for when you don’t quite feel well but don’t really know what the problem is.
Harvesting wood betony
Pick the plant just before the flowers fully open. To dry for a tea or pillow, spread on a screen or brown paper in the sun. When dry and crisp, put into brown paper bags or jars to store.
Wood betony tea
Use 2 teaspoonfuls of the fresh herb or 1 teaspoonful of the dried herb per cup of boiling water, and leave to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes.
Dose: 3 cups a day, or 1 cup at bedtime to relax for a good night’s sleep.
Wood betony tincture
Put fresh wood betony herb in a blender with enough vodka or brandy to cover. Blend briefly, then pour into a jar and put in a cool dark place for a week. Strain off the liquid, bottle and label.
Dose: Wood betony often works very well in drop doses. Take 5–10 drops in a little water three times a day. For insomnia, take 10 drops at bedtime. For more of a tonic effect, take 1 teaspoonful three times a day.
Wood betony ointment
Pick a handful of wood betony leaves, and put them in a small saucepan with 100ml of extra virgin olive oil. Using a low heat, warm gently, just below simmering, until the leaves have lost their green colour and are quite crisp. Strain, returning the oil to the pan.
Add 10g beeswax and warm until it melts. Stir well and pour into jars. Leave the lids off until the ointment sets, then label and store in a cool place until needed.
Wood betony pillow
Sew a small cloth bag, leaving one end open. Fill loosely with dried wood betony leaves. Some dried lavender flowers or rose petals can be added for their fragrance. Stitch or tie up the open end, and place the bag under your pillow.
Wood betony, hawthorn and horseradish formula
To make 100ml, mix 50ml wood betony tincture, 40ml hawthorn tincture or syrup and 10ml of horseradish vinegar. This formula stimulates and warms, improving digestion, circulation and memory.
Dose: 1 teaspoon morning and afternoon as a tonic for older people or anyone recovering from a long illness. Also great for exam time!