# Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)

**Alchemilla*; *pes leonis*, lion’s foot*

**Known today as.** *Alchemilla vulgaris* and its kin, of the rose family, with pleated, scalloped leaves that hold a bead of dew at the centre.

Kind: Plant

## What was it used for?

A wound herb and an astringent, and above all a herb of women: for heavy bleeding, and, in the old herbals, to restore what childbirth had loosened.

## What does modern science say?

Rich in tannins, which explain its astringency; there is no good trial of its gynaecological uses.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **agrimoniin**: an ellagitannin; 6–8 per cent tannins
- **pedunculagin**: 
- **quercetin glycosides**: 

**Mechanism.** Astringent by its tannins, which stop small bleeding and tighten the gut and skin; nothing in it acts on the womb or restores what the herbals promised, and the heavy-bleeding use rests on the astringency alone.

**Dose.** Safe at tea doses.

**Standing.** No EMA monograph; in the German tradition (Wichtl) for mild diarrhoea and as a wash.

## What lore surrounds it?

Its Latin name, *Alchemilla*, “little alchemist,” is traditionally explained by the alchemists’ gathering of the dew from its leaves as the purest of waters for their work.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Its English name.** The mantle is the Virgin’s: the scalloped leaf was read as the edge of her cloak.

## Sources

- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Lady’s Mantle.”
- Culpeper, N. (1652). *The English Physitian*.
- Wichtl, M. (2004). *Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals*, 3rd ed., “Alchemillae herba.”

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*Lady’s mantle.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-30. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/ladys-mantle

Historical description, not medical advice.