Acer palmatum, although there are more than 100 species of maple worldwide, only one species (Acer campestre) is native to the UK.

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Ash
Bogbean
Comfrey
Dandelion
Dock
Elder
Houseleek
Ivy
Mallow
Nettle
Ribwort plantain
Thyme
Yarrow
 		Ivy
Hedera helix
Mallow
Evergreen woody climber, common in hedgerows and grows on trees and old walls.

'I met a young woman in Fairlie, Ayrshire coast, who made a concoction of ivy leaves for her corns with vinegar – she pointed to "Irish" as the type she used.'
Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, 1991

Mallow
 
'An "ivy cap" used to be made by joining the leaves together, and put on the heads of children who had some disease of the scalp (a sort of rash). It had good healing powers.'
Lenamore, Co. Longford, 1991

'Ivy leaves for seeping wounds – good.'
Mordiford, Herefordshire, 1991

Ivy is recorded as being used to treat burns and eczema, and fed to sick cattle and sheep to 'tempt their appetite'. It is currently used by practitioners of herbal medicine to treat cellulite, whooping cough and nervous conditions such as neuritis (inflammation of the peripheral nerves).




Cures featured in this exhibition and on the website should be used only with advice from a qualified medical herbalist.