Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Marsh woundwort is a tall wild plant in the mint family. Its botanical name is Stachys palustris. European country healers used the crushed leaves on cuts, grazes and sores.
It grows in wet ditches, marshes and stream banks across Europe and much of Asia. The roots form small white tubers, which rural families once dug up and ate. The old folk name "all-heal" came from this wound use, not from any proven power.
Human evidence is close to absent. No good trial has tested the plant for wounds or for anything else. Long use in folk medicine is not proof that it works, and not proof that it is safe.
No one has shown how marsh woundwort acts in the body. The old idea was simple. A bruised-leaf dressing was thought to clean a cut and slow bleeding.
Lab work gives hints only. In test tubes, extracts of Stachys plants slow the growth of some bacteria. Whether that happens on human skin has not been shown.
In cell and animal studies, some Stachys extracts lower markers of inflammation. These are early findings from the lab bench. They do not tell you what a poultice or a tea will do for you.
Tannins in the plant bind protein and can make skin feel tighter. That is a known plant effect in general. It has not been measured for this species in people.
Marsh woundwort is rarely sold at all. It is mostly a forager's plant, used fresh and close to where it grows.
Forms used on the skin:
- Fresh leaves, bruised and laid on the skin as a poultice. - A wash or compress made from the leafy stems.
Forms taken by mouth:
- Dried leaf and flowering tops, brewed as a tea. - Tincture in alcohol, from small herbal makers. - Tubers, boiled or roasted and eaten as a root vegetable.
There is no standard product and no agreed strength. Two batches can differ a lot. Labels, where they exist, carry no tested dose.
The plant can be confused with hedge woundwort and other Stachys species. Correct identification matters before any use. Ask an expert if you are not sure.
Marsh woundwort earned its name in European folk practice, mainly from the 1500s onward. Herbalists of that era praised it for fresh cuts and bruises.
John Gerard's herbal of 1597 told a tale of a farm worker who gashed his leg with a scythe. Gerard wrote that a dressing of this plant mended it. Stories like that spread the nickname "all-heal".
Village use followed the same pattern for centuries. People bruised the leaves, bound them over the wound, and drank a tea for stomach cramps. The tubers were also a hunger food in poor seasons.
This record describes custom, not testing. It is reported here as history, and is not advice to treat yourself with the plant.
Stop using it and see a doctor if any of these happen:
- The wound turns red, hot, swollen or leaks pus. - Red streaks spread out from the wound. - You get a fever or feel generally unwell. - The wound is still open after about a week. - A rash spreads beyond the area you treated. - You get stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhoea after drinking the tea.
Get emergency help for trouble breathing, swelling of the lips, face or tongue, or bleeding you cannot stop with pressure.
In the UK and EU, marsh woundwort is an ordinary wild herb. It is not an authorised medicine and holds no registered herbal licence.
In the United States it is not approved by the FDA for any medical use and would be sold, if at all, as a supplement or herb.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
One email with the summary. We'll also send a short weekly evidence update — unsubscribe any time.
