- Botanical Name
- Teucrium chamaedrys
Wall Germander
Details
Wall germander is a creeping evergreen perennial of the mint family, native to Europe, the Greek islands and Syria. Grieve says it is scarce and hardly native in England, found on old ruins and as a garden escape, and was once widely grown for medicine. She describes square stems six to eighteen inches high, dark green, oak-like leaves, rose-coloured flowers in June and July, and a garlic-like smell from rubbed fresh leaves. Wikipedia says dietary supplements using germander are highly hepatotoxic and that France prohibited their sale in 1992. Grieve records its old use as a specific for gout, and says it was also used as a tonic in intermittent fevers.
Caution
Wikipedia says dietary supplements using germander are highly hepatotoxic, causing acute hepatitis, and that its sale was prohibited in France in April 1992. AHPA names Teucrium chamaedrys as a plant containing a hepatotoxic compound.
Correspondences
- Elements
- No elements recorded.
- Celestial Bodies
- No celestial bodies recorded.
- Zodiac Signs
- No zodiac signs recorded.
- Colours
- No colours recorded.
- Deities
- No deities recorded.
Folk Names
- Common Germander
Categories
No categories recorded.
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded.
Forms
Herb
Grieve gives the whole herb, collected in July and dried, as the part used. She calls it stimulant, tonic, diaphoretic and diuretic, and a slight aperient. She records its old reputation as a specific for gout, says the expressed juice of the leaves with white wine was held good for obstruction of the viscera, and says the decoction taken with honey was used for asthma and coughs.
Caution
Wikipedia says dietary supplements using germander are highly hepatotoxic, and AHPA names Teucrium chamaedrys as containing a hepatotoxic compound.
References
Notes
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, p. 802, in the entry for Scutellaria lateriflora.
- Grieve, "Germander, Wall."
- Wikipedia, under "Teucrium chamaedrys."
- Grieve, "Germander, Wall."
- Wikipedia, under "Teucrium chamaedrys."
Bibliography
- Gardner, Zoë, and Michael McGuffin, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013. (PDF.)
1 - Grieve, M. "Germander, Wall." A Modern Herbal. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/gerwal11.html. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
2 4 - Wikipedia, under "Teucrium chamaedrys." Accessed October 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teucrium_chamaedrys&oldid=1353274284. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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