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Harmless🍽️ Edible💊 Medicinal

🌿 Ground ivy

Glechoma hederacea · Lamiaceae

🌳 Temperate Europe🏔️ Mountains🍁 North America
🧠 To remember it"Ground ivy: it creeps, it never climbs" — its misleading name has nothing to do with climbing ivy, which is toxic if ingested in quantity.
Ground ivy — Glechoma hederacea

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

Small, creeping, ground-covering plant (has nothing to do with English ivy, despite the name), with round to kidney-shaped, scalloped leaves borne on long petioles, and square stems typical of the Lamiaceae that root at the nodes. Blue-violet two-lipped flowers in small clusters in the leaf axils. Strong minty-aromatic scent when crushed.

  1. creeping square stem, rooting at the nodes
  2. round to kidney-shaped leaves, scalloped, with long petioles
  3. strong aromatic scent when crushed (minty, slightly acrid)
  4. small blue-violet two-lipped flowers in the leaf axils
  5. low, dense carpet, never climbing (unlike true ivy)
Size5-15 cm (creeping)
FloweringMarch-June
Habitatopen understory, hedges, gardens, moist lawns, shady path margins

⚠️ Not to be confused with

no dangerous confusion reported (-)aucun

To tell them apart: the combination of creeping square stem + kidney-shaped leaf + aromatic scent is distinctive among common low groundcovers

🍽️ Eating it

Partsleaves, flowering tops
SeasonMarch-June, young leaves year-round in mild climates
Tastearomatic, slightly bitter and minty, strong

Preparation : raw leaves in small quantities (strong flavor) in salads, infused as herbal tea, historically used to clarify and flavor beer before the widespread adoption of hops

💊 Healing with it

traditionally used for upper respiratory tract ailments (coughs, catarrh) and as a mild digestive tonic

Level of evidence : traditional use — ethnobotanical compilations (Fournier, PFAF)

⚠️ consume in moderate amounts (concentrated essential oils can be potentially irritating in high doses); avoid during pregnancy as a general precaution

🪓 Other bushcraft uses

  • historically used in medieval English brewing to clarify, flavor, and preserve beer ("alehoof", before the widespread adoption of hops in the 15th century)
Sources (3)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.