Wood Betony (Stachys betonica): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Stachys betonica
Family: Lamiaceae
Part used: Aerial Parts
Taste: Bitter, slightly pungent, slightly astringent
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Drying

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Avoid — traditional emmenagogue (Culpeper 1653; Grieve 1931)

While breastfeeding

Avoid during breastfeeding — traditional emmenagogue with limited lactation data.

For children

Historically used at low dose for nervous/digestive complaints; use glycerite or mild infusion

Cautions

Emetic in large doses (Grieve 1931); avoid high-dose long-term

General contraindications

None absolute at standard adult doses

Stewardship

Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis, syn. S. betonica / Betonica officinalis) is cultivated in Europe; see also H068 (same species, different catalog entry). Stewardship: the duplicate entry (H068 and H077) is a legacy of the database's growth — harmonize in a future nomenclature pass.

In the traditional record

Betony (Stachys betonica) — the 4th-century Herbarium of Apuleius Platonicus listed it as a sovereign remedy with twenty-nine separate uses; long held in European tradition as a protective herb, planted in churchyards and worn as an amulet, while Culpeper (1653) and the Eclectic physicians valued it as a primary nervine for tension headaches and anxious digestion.

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.