COUCH GRASS Triticum or Agropyrum repens, Beav.( N. O.: Gramineae)
Common Names: Dog Grass, Quick Grass, Durfa Grass, Twitch Grass, Triticum Repens, Agropyrum. Features: Known to farmers in Europe and North America as a pest. The spikes resemble wheat or rye when in bloom, reaching heights of 1 – 3 ft.; the pale yellow, smooth rootstock is long and trailing, with each joint sending forth a shoot which becomes a new plant. It should be gathered in the spring and carefully cleaned and dried. Culpeper says an acre of Couch grass is worth 10 acres of carrots.
COUCH GRASS Triticum or Agropyrum, Beay.( Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto, Canada, 1966)
Medicinal Parts: Rootstock, rhizome. Solvent: Water. Bodily Influence: Diuretic, Aperient, Demulcent. Uses: Couch grass is recommended by Dr. Thompsom for lessening the frequency and pain in cases of excessive irritation of the bladder from any cause. It is a Botanical for general catarrhal treatment, which if not eliminated advances more seriously. The troublesome plant has been used by famous Herbalists for Gout, Enlarged prostate gland( when chronic gonorrhoea), Prulent cystitis, Incipient nephritis. Some physicians trust its timely use in dissolving small calculi. This being so, it is a herb to remember for all rheumatic and jaundice sufferers. The accepted administration is in an infusion of 1 oz. of Couch grass to 1 pint of boiling water, steeped 20 min. and given in wineglassful doses every 2 hr. Or a decoction of the root made by boiling 1 oz. of the herb in 1 pint of water until reduced to ¾ pint, 10 – 20 drops in water two or more times a day.
Dr. Clymer, M. D., gives us the following from“ Natures Healing Agents”. In chronic gonorrhoea:
Tincture of Couch grass( Triticum repens), 5 – 20 drops Tincture 2 Motherwort( Leonurus cardiaca), 9 – 15 drops Tincture 2 Sandalwood( Santalum album), 10 – 20 drops Tincture 2 Buchu( Barosma betulina), 10 – 20 drops
Dose: In water, three or more times a day. For enlarged prostate( non-operative):
Tincture of Couch grass( Triticum repens), 5 – 15 drops Tincture of Fringe tree( Chionanthus virginica), 3 – 7 drops Tincture of Saw palmetto( Sabal serrulata), 5 – 20 drops
Dose: In water, three or more times a day.