222 Prunella vulgaris
Prunella vulgaris, self-heal (Fuchs
1543, fig. 352)
Isles—Prunella vulgarishas had three principal but distinct functions in folk
medicine: to staunch bleeding, to ease respiratory complaints and to treat
heart trouble. For the first of those the plant was once highly valued in official
medicine as well, but by the eighteenth century it largely fell into disuse and
has lingered on only in country areas: the Weald of Kent (where charcoal burn-
ers applied it to cuts and bruises as recently as World War II^169 ), Suffolk,^170