86 Urtica
Of the numerous ailments which crop up in the records much less com-
monly, two clearly owe their presence to the plant’s astringent effect: bleed-
ing, especially from the nose, and stomach upsets and diarrhoea (7 and 4
records, respectively). Three records of use as a skin-cleansing cosmetic
belong here, too. Conviction that the plants are rich in iron have led to their
being eaten for anaemia (5 records), while valuing of them for reducing
swellings (7 records) has produced a particular targeting of mumps. Their
claimed sedative property has also called forth a use for insomnia and ‘nerves’
(4 records), while by contrast the undoubted stimulus to the circulation
imparted by the stings has encouraged their application to paralysed limbs
and for heart trouble. Other uses for which, like these last, no more than three
or four records at most have come to light include for jaundice, headaches,
insect stings, dandruff, swollen glands (especially goitre), dropsy, ringworm,
indigestion, ear infections, high blood pressure, shingles, piles, worms,
epilepsy, cramp and corns. There is also a solitary record of the use of nettles
to keep away flies.
Parietaria judaicaLinnaeus
P. diffusa Mertens & Koch
pellitory-of-the-wall
western and southern Europe, North Africa; introduced into North
America, Australasia
(Folk credentials questionable) Though frequent in the British Isles and
accepted as indigenous on cliffs, rocks and steep hedgebanks,Parietaria
judaica also occurs widely in places associated with human activity. Both it
and the related P. officinalis Linnaeus were once much valued for their diu-
retic action and consequently applied to dropsy and gravel complaints, but it
is suspicious that the few records of folk use are virtually all, Irish^17 as well as
English,^18 of use in the relatively sophisticated form of inclusion in ‘cock-
tails’ with various other standard diuretic herbs. That it is really a relic of the
learned tradition in its entirety seems likeliest on the evidence.
Myricaceae
Myrica gale Linnaeus
bog-myrtle, sweet gale, bog sally, black sallow,roid,roideog,reileòg
Eurasia, North America
Like bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), essentially a plant of the peaty areas of
the west,Myrica gale has enjoyed semi-sacred status in Irish lore and might