Speedwell
Bird’s eye; Veronica
- Known today as
- Veronica chamaedrys and its relatives. A low, spreading plant with small, bright blue, four-petaled flowers, common in grass and hedgerows.
- Kind
- Plant
- Constituents
- aucubin and catalpol, veronicoside, tannins, and 1 more
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Speedwell: what was it used for?
Taken now and then as a tea for coughs and complaints of the skin in the older herbals.
Speedwell: what does modern science say?
No controlled evidence supports any traditional use.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- Mechanism
- A mild astringent and expectorant by its iridoids and tannins: a tea of the herbals with no distinctive action and no toxicity, kept in the German pharmacopoeia into the twentieth century as a substitute for tea.
- Toxic dose
- Safe.
- Standing
- No monograph.
- Wichtl, M. (2004). Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd ed., “Veronicae herba.” Book, seen in reviews
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Speedwell: what lore surrounds it?
Widely called “bird’s eye” for its flower, it carried a protective superstition in reverse: children in several English counties were told that picking it would make the birds peck out their eyes, a warning still recorded late in the twentieth century.
In Their Own Words
Mrs Grieve says old writers praised germander speedwell as a wound herb, a purifier of the blood and a remedy for skin diseases, its outward application being thought good for the itch.
“Old writers of all countries speak highly of the virtues of the Speedwell as a vulnerary, a purifier of the blood, and a remedy in various skin diseases, its outward application being considered efficacious for the itch.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: “Speedwell, Germander”, “Speedwell, Germander” (Veronica chamaedrys): Medicinal Action and Uses. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Of the related common speedwell, Mrs Grieve writes that it was formerly used in chest and kidney complaints, haemorrhages, skin diseases and wounds, and gives it diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant and tonic properties.
“The plant has diaphoretic, alterative, diuretic, expectorant and tonic properties, and was formerly employed in pectoral and nephritic complaints, haemorrhages, diseases of the skin and in the treatment of wounds.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: “Speedwell, Common”, “Speedwell, Common” (Veronica officinalis): Medicinal Action and Uses. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Sources
- Plant-Lore, “Speedwell.” Book, seen in reviews
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 2 cited: 2 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 27, 2026
- Chicago
“Speedwell.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 27, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/speedwell.
- MLA
“Speedwell.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 27 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/speedwell. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Speedwell. (2026, September 27). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/speedwell
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See Also
Sharing aucubin and catalpol, tannins, mannitol
Plantago major · Galium odoratum · Prunella vulgaris · Juglans regia · Sorbus aucuparia · Fraxinus ornus
Drawing on the same sources: Plant-Lore, Wichtl
Wild carrot, seed of · Ragwort · Yarrow · Toadflax · Pilewort · Agrimony · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Spermaceti (A white wax from the head of the sperm whale) · Species Pleris Archonticon · Spikenard (a Himalayan valerian) · Southernwood (“lad’s love) · Spirit of wine (Distilled alcohol) · Sorrel, syrup of · Squill · Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum multiflorum and its relatives)
Historical description, not medical advice.