This section of the book is from "The Complete Herbalist" by Dr. O. Phelps Brown. Also available from Amazon: The Complete Herbalist: The People Their Own Physicians By The Use Of Nature's Remedies.
COMMON NAMES. -- Gill-go-by-the-ground, Ground
Ivy, Cat's-Foot, Turnhoof, etc.
MEDICINAL PART. The leaves.
Description. -- This plant is a perennial
gray, hairy herb, with a procumbent creeping stem, varying in length from
a few inches to one or two feet. The leaves have petioles, cordate,
and hairy on both sides. The flowers are bluish purple. The
corolla is about three times as long as the calyx.
History. -- This plant is common to the United
States and Europe, where it is found in shady places, waste grounds, dry
ditches, etc. It flowers in May or August. The leaves impart
their virtues to boiling water by infusion. They have an unpleasant
odor, and a harsh, bitterish, slightly aromatic taste.
Properties and Uses. -- It is stimulant,
tonic, and pectoral, and is useful in diseases of the lungs and kidneys,
asthma, jaundice, hypochondria, and monomania. An infusion of the
leaves is very beneficial in lead-colic, and painters who make use of it
are seldom, if ever, troubled with that affection. The fresh juice
snuffed up the nose often cures the most inveterate headache.
Dose. -- Powder, half a drachm to a drachm;
infusion, one or two fluid ounces.
 
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