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Germander
Teucrium chamaedrys
This herb is native to Europe and southwest Asia. A trim little evergreen
bush with glossy green foliage, it has small, two-lipped, tubular,
purplish-pink flowers. The shiny leaves have indentations that make them
look like little oak leaves - actually, the species name ’chamaedrys’ means
“ground oak”. When they’re rubbed, the leaves smell pleasantly spicy.
Germander grows 1 to 2 feet high and prefers full or part sun in
well-drained soil, even likes living in the crevices of walls or in rock
gardens. To propagate, divide roots in autumn, or take cuttings in late
spring or summer.
USES
Decorative Germander is a traditional knot-garden plant.
Medicinal A strong tea of the leaves was an olden-day remedy for gout and
painful limbs, such as from rheumatism, because it reduces inflammation. It
is used as a diuretic and stimulating tonic and recommended for coughs and
asthma because it is decongestant. It stimulates digestion, and is also used
to encourage weight loss. Externally, a strong germander tea is used as a
mouthwash for gum disease, skin eruptions and injuries.
Economic Leaves are used to flavor liqueurs, vermouths and tonic wines.
Scent Germander was often used as a strewing herb, to improve the aroma
inside closed-up castles and cottages, etc., in the winter.
CAUTION: Germander may cause liver damage.
(some information obtained from "The Complete Book of Herbs“,
by Leslie Bremness, and from “Encyclopedia of Herbs” by Deni Brown)
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