COLUMN: Ramblings: ‘Creeping Charlie’ is a useful nuisance

I have been fighting a losing battle all summer with a plant. My little patio was invaded in the spring by a culprit named “Creeping Charlie.” That is the name my mom used. He has many aliases. Culpepper calls him “alehoof.” Some call him “gill-over-the-ground” or “ground ivy.” I call him a nuisance and a formidable foe. He stretches his long tentacles out in all directions and makes himself right at home.

“Alehoof” is an attractive plant. Two scalloped leaves are attached to the long slender vine. Many leaf bearing shoots emerge from the vine. They snake across the ground, soon creating a thick mat. In spring two small purple-blueish blooms emerge at the juncture of vine and leaf. Bees love it. The problem is he smothers any plant in his vicinity. He has smothered the sedum with the pretty yellow blooms that once covered the gravel along my patio. Now he is making his way to the lawn. I’ve sprayed him with vinegar; I’ve ripped him up by the roots. He persists. 

Glechoma hederacea is not native to North America. Like many plants it came with the settlers crossing the Atlantic. The plant belongs to the mint family and has many uses. The Saxons used it to flavor their ale. For centuries, the leaves were made into tea and used as a tonic. The leaves contain protein and can be eaten as salad. The plant also contains vitamin C, phosphorus, potassium, copper, ink, and calcium. Before modern medicine people used plants to heal their ailments. That is why we have so many wild non-native plants. The people that lived here before the white invasion also knew how to use plants to heal. 

Years ago, a big patch of “Creeping Charlie” grew along the foundation at the back of my house. A friend of mine, a Blackfoot brave, participated in the Sun Dance in Brown County. The Sun Dance ceremony takes many days. The spiritual aspects are profound. It is also a grueling physical experience. He knew about the benefits of this plant I considered a weed. He asked me if he could harvest some to make tea. He explained to me the benefits of drinking the tea to replenish his body. Of course, I said yes. I even pulled it up for him.  

The knowledge he had about this plant I had considered a nuisance was useful. Foraging for wild things has been a lifelong habit. My mother and her mother took me foraging when I was still a toddler. I could identify and use many ‘wild’ things. I never imagined this plant I considered a nuisance had so much to offer. Modern day herbalists collect the plant in late spring when the flowers are still fresh. They use it for many things, from kidney disease to eye problems. Mixed with chamomile flowers and made into a poultice it is also used to heal abscesses.  

I do want to add a caution. Foraging for wild things can be dangerous. Please do not ingest any plant based on my description.

‘til next time,

Annie