Stachys officinalis. Betonica officinalis Wood betony, Bishopwort   Family: Labiatae   
PART USED: Aerial parts
TASTE: Slightly bitter ODOR: Slight
ACTIONS
GROUP: Sedative nervines
1. Bitter tonic..[1,2,4] Aromatic.[4]
2. Astringent.[4]
3. Sedative.[1,2,4]
4. Cephalic.
INDICATIONS- "The sovereign remedy for all maladies of the head".
1. Headache, especially in neurasthenia.[1,2,4] Anxiety.[1,2,4] Hysteria.[1,2] Insomnia. Vertigo.[1] Neuralgia.[1,2,4] Parkinson states.[4]
2. Palpitations.
3. Dyspepsia.
4. Rheumatic disorders.
5. Wounds. Varicose ulcers.
6. "To hinder drunkenness”, being taken before hand and quickly to expell it afterwards,[4] -Not tested in modern times, so canot be relied upon.[4]
SPECIFIC INDICATIONS: Headache in neurasthenia.[1]
COMBINATIONS
- Nervous headache, use with Scutellaria.[1]
PREPARATIONS:  3X/day
Dried herb   2-4 g,[1,2] or by infusion.[1]
Fluid extract 1:1 in 25% alcohol  2-4 ml.[1,2,4] 1:2 in 25% alcohol.[2]
Tincture 1:5 in 45% alcohol  2-6 ml.[1,2]
NOTES: The plant was commonly grown in physic gardens of apothecaries and monasteries for medicinal purposes.
HABITAT: Open woods, hedgebanks grasslands and heaths.
ORIGIN: Europe, including Britian.
DESCRIPTION: Grows up to 60 cm tall, upright, with a basal rosette of oblong, cordate coarsely crenate, long-petioled leaves, bearing a spike of bright, red-purple, flowers. Basal leaves up to 7 cm long, ovate or oblong, obtuse, cordate at base, coarsely crenate, Stems upright and hairy, bearing smaller leaves, 2-3 pairs. Flowers bright reddish-purple, in tight oblong spikes, the tube longer than the calyx.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Stachys officinalis (L.) Trevis. (Lamiaceae)
Jelena S Lazarevic 1, Aleksandra S Ðordevic, Dušanka V Kitic, Bojan K Zlatkovic, Gordana S Stojanovic
Abstract
Characterization by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses of the Stachys officinalis (L.) Trevis. essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts allowed the identification of 190 components that represented 97.9% of the total oil content. The main constituents identified were germacrene D (19.9%), ß-caryophyllene (14.1%), and a-humulene (7.5%). Terpenoids were by far predominant (89.4%), with sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (69.1%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (14.8%) being the most abundant compounds detected in the oil. Based on the present and previously published results, multivariate statistical comparison of the chemical composition of the essential oils was performed within the species. Principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) of the data on the volatile profiles of S. officinalis taxa revealed no pronounced differences among the samples originated from the Balkan Peninsula. Additionally, the oil was screened for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activity using the broth microdilution assay. The oil's best antimicrobial activities were obtained against the mold Aspergillus niger (minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal fungicidal (MFC) concentrations of 2.5 and 5.0 mg/ml, resp.) and the yeast Candida albicans (MIC and MFC of 5.0 mg/ml).
Chem Biodivers 2013 Jul;10(7):1335-49. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201200332. PMID: 23847079 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov