ment made for snakebites used in Cardiganshire, however, was probably
made from this and not ragged-robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi).
Polygonaceae
Persicaria bistorta (Linnaeus) Sampaio
bistort
northern and central Europe, mountains of southern Europe,
south-western and central Asia
With a root rich in tannin and a powerful astringent,Persicaria bistorta might
have been expected to feature in folk medicine at least as widely as its popu-
larity for soup and spring puddings, though the latter also had a reputation
for purifying the blood.^115 In Cumbria a tea made from it has been recorded
as a headache cure^116 and it has also been used there as a vermicide.^117 In the
Highlands it was valued for urinary complaints^118 and there is an unlocalised
record (‘in country places’) of its use for toothache.^119 That is all. But what is
the explanation of its subsequent discovery in cemeteries in both urban and
rural areas in various parts of England and Scotland? Was it introduced into
these to ensure a supply for the puddings connected with Easter, or because
of some obscure medicinal belief, such as the one recorded in some of the six-
teenth-century herbals, that it could aid conception?
Persicaria maculosa Gray
Polygonum persicaria Linnaeus
redshank
northern temperate zone; introduced into Australasia
Persicaria lapathifolia (Linnaeus) Gray
pale persicaria
northern temperate zone, Australia; introduced into North America
Oddly, the records for the folk use of the common weeds Persicaria maculosa
and P. lapathifolia are exclusively Irish. A plant which from the verbal descrip-
tion is clearly one or the other has been used in Limerick to stop bleeding—
on the strength of a belief that the blotch on the leaves is a drop of Christ’s
blood.^120 The name bloodweed has been recorded in Donegal as borne by a
plant identified botanically as P. lapathifolia,^121 which suggests the same usage
there as well; but whether this was also the ‘bloodweed’ similarly used in Tip-
perary^122 is uncertain, as that name has been given to a range of herbs alleg-
edly with styptic properties. The joints of one or the other have also been
recorded from an unspecific part of Ireland as eaten for a malady known as
94 Silene dioica