Herb. No. 165 · Rosaceae
Cool European meadows and mountain pastures, a cottage-garden self-sower.
Native · Europe
Native Also grown
LegalGentleplant
Lady’s mantle
Alchemilla vulgaris
Dew-catching scalloped leaves and a chartreuse foam of flowers — a European astringent of the old women’s shelf.
Lady’s mantle holds beads of water in the leaf like a trick. Traditional European use is as an astringent tea for cramp and a ‘women’s tonic’ folklore. Culinary-tea amounts are gentle. Alchemists wanted the dew; herbalists wanted the leaf. The two jobs got braided in the name.
Flavor
Green, astringent, a little rose-family tannin. Quiet.
Parts used
Leaf · Flowering tops
Helpful
- A handsome shade perennial
- Gentle astringent
Cautions
- Pregnancy tea is folklore, not a plan