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 Agropyron repens (Graminae)
COUCHGRASS, TWITCHGRASS, DOGSGRASS
A notorious garden weed throughout the world, it is native to Europe but travelled with early explorers and settlers.
The roots have been used as a medicine since Dioscorides in AD77, and even sick dogs eat the leaves to produce a healing vomit. In Europe, it is still used as a tisane.
Long white rhizomes spread as a dense mat in the soil and produce clumps of grass blades. In midsummer,
a flowering spike appears with two rows of closely packed small flowers that look like rye.
PARTS USED
Rhizome, collected in the spring.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
A polysaccharide, triticin, and other carbohydrates such as inositol, mannitol, and mucilage;
volatile oil containing agropyrene.
ACTIONS
Soothing; increases urine production.
MEDICINAL USE
Used for painful urinary tract problems, including inflammatory urinary tract conditions such as cystitis, kidney stones,
and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland).
PREPARATIONS
Decoction, tincture. |
