Sep

Lambs Ears – bandage on the run

Posted by frann under Common garden herbs

They look more like rabbits ears to me I’m including this herb for a couple of reasons, even though it’s not really very active. But it continues the “Worts” and one of its alternative names, Woundwort, was immortalized in the book and film Watership Down as the infamous General Woundwort, the dictator who tried to destroy Fiver’s warren.

Lambs Ears, Stachys olympica (sometimes labeled Stachys byzantina or S. lanata), has the alternative names Woundwort and Woolly Betony. It’s closely related to Wood Betony. As a Stachys, it joins other members of the same genus, many of which are dried for use as everlasting flowers. It’s a hardy perennial, usually grown as an ornamental and often used for edging (the flowers are usually cut off when they appear so as to keep the plants small). It’s happy in full sun or semi shade.

The only use I’ve been able to find for this plant is as a field bandage, to dress wounds and staunch bleeding. So if you have need for something like this, or you run out of plasters…

Now for sure, you do not want to be sticking a leaf which is coated in chemicals on any open wound, so as I have been saying throughout this blog, if you intend to use Lambs Ears for this purpose, they must be grown organically. To find out more about growing organic lambs ears, visit the Gardenzone.

Technorati Tags: dress wounds, field bandage, lambs ears, stachys byzantina, stachys lanata, stachys olympica, staunch bleeding, woolly betony, woundwort