troubles in general; this, too, was a use formerly widespread in rural Ireland^2
which survived till more recently at least in Tipperary.^3 Like that of comfrey
(Symphytum officinale) and royal fern (Osmunda regalis), the mucilage was
also found effective for easing swellings and so had a reputation for curing
sprains in Offaly^4 and Co. Dublin^5 as well as across the sea in Galloway.^6 The
leaves were sometimes employed instead of the bark for swellings and inflam-
mation.^7 Other, unrelated uses recorded have been to staunch bleeding in
Cavan,^8 to cure jaundice in Kilkenny^9 and to counteract ‘evils’ (ulcers, cancer
and the like) in Limerick.^10
Bycontrast, the tree seems to have hardly featured at all in English folk
medicine. Apart from an elm wood tea drunk for eczema in Hampshire,^11
the sole record traced is from the valley of the Upper Thames in Wiltshire,
where for a cold or sore throat villagers stripped off the inner bark from young
wands and either chewed that raw or boiled it down into a jelly eaten cold.^12
Cannabaceae
Humulus lupulusLinnaeus
hop
Europe, western Asia; introduced into North America,
New Zealand
Opinions differ on whetherHumulus lupulusis anywhere indigenous in the
British Isles, but its pollen has been reported from deposits of prehistoric date,
and though readily running into wild habitats from cultivation, it may be a
genuine relic in fenny areas. Even so it must be considered doubtful whether
any of the recorded folk uses of the plant antedate its cultivation as a crop.
Almost all those records are Irish. Apparently, Ireland alone has appreci-
ated the alleged sedative effect of one or more of the plant’s constituents. It
has been used in Co. Dublin^13 and Clare^14 for calming the nerves and in Lim-
erick as an antidote to insomnia.^15
More intriguing is a practice reported from an unidentified part of Eng-
land (the New Forest?): cleansing and curing ulcers and obstinate sores by
means of a bread poultice on to which hops have been thickly sprinkled.^16
Urticaceae
Urtica dioicaLinnaeus
common nettle
temperate regions worldwide
84 Ulmus glabra