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Brooklime

Scientific Names

• Veronica beccabunga L.
• Primrose family

Common Names

Beccabunga
Mouth-smart
Neckweed
Speedwell (V. officinalis)
Water pimpernel (pimpernel is Pimpinella saxifraga)
Water purslain (purslane is really (Portulaca oleracea)
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Parts Usually Used

The plant
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Brooklime is a succulent perennial plant; its round stem grows 1-1 1/2 feet high from a creeping jointed rootstock. The leaves are glabrous, ovate or broadly elliptical, and finely serrate. The small blue flowers grow in axillary spikes from May to August. Seeds appear the month after flowering.
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Where Found

Found in wet places, as in streams and ditches, usually near watercress.
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Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge
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Uses

Fresh juice of the herb is mildly diuretic. Older herbals recommend it for intestinal disorders and anemia. Once prized, it is little used today. Used as a blood purifier, helps scurvy, increase urination, help break up kidney stones, bring on menstruation. Fried with butter and vinegar, and applied warm, it helps tumors, swellings, and inflammations.
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Formulas or Dosages

Juice: take 1 tsp. to 3 tbsp., 3 times a day. Take in milk if the stomach is sensitive.
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Nutrient Content

Vitamin C
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Bibliography

Culpeper's Complete Herbal & English Physician, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

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