Photo by Anna-Lena Anderberg on linnaeus.nrm.se
Most of us know Couch Grass as a really invasive weed, but it’s been used in herbal medicine since ancient times. It’s a really good example of something which most just consider a nuisance, but which in fact has many good uses. It’s native to most of Europe, Asia, and North West Africa, and has been naturalized across the Northern Hemisphere.
Couch Grass has 0.4-1.5 m tall stems, and the leaves are linear, 150–400 mm long and 3–10 mm wide at the base of the plant. The leaves higher up on the stems are 2–8.5 mm wide. The flower spike is 100–300 mm long, with spikelets 10–20 mm long, 5–7 mm wide and 3 mm thick with three to eight florets. The glumes are 7–12 mm long, usually without an awn or with only a short one. Couch Grass flowers from the end of June through to August.
Latin name Elytrigia repens
Synonym(s) Common Couch, Dogs Grass, Witch Grass, Twitchgrass, Quickgrass, Quack Grass
Family Poaceae
Main constituents
Couch contains carbohydrates fructose, glucose, mannitol, inositol, triticin (a carbohydrate resembling inulin) and pectin. Other ingredients are cyanogene glycosides, tricin and other flavonoids, saponins, fatty oil, vanilla glucoside and 0.05% essential oil consisting of 95% agropyren, carvakrol, trans-anethol, Carvone, thymol, menthol, Menthon, p-cymen and sesquiterpenes. Agropyren has antibiotic effects.
Uses
Medical
Couch Grass has been used to treat urinary tract disorders such as cystitis, ureteral inflammation, prostate inflammation (prostatitis), enlarged prostate, kidney infections and kidney stones. Otherwise, the intestinal worms, high cholesterol, gout, arthritis, rheumatism, jaundice, constipation and skin diseases.
Because of its cleansing, eliminating properties it is used in bronchial disorders, metabolic complaints, rheumatism, gout, catarrh of the lower urinary tract and catarrh of the upper airways.
Tea made from the dried root has a blood-cleansing action, as it activates the metabolic activities and elimination processes.
Externally it is applied as a wash to swollen limbs.
Magical
Couch Grass is used to gain love, for happiness, lust and exorcism. When carried or sprinkled under the bed it attracts new lovers. It’s used in unhexing and uncrossing rituals, and when worn it dispels depression.
Cosmetic
Couch Grass helps to remove waste products from the body, and thereby to clear blemished skin.
Culinary
Young leaves and shoots are eaten raw in spring salads. The root is used as tea. When roasted, the root has been used as a coffee substitute, and as dried in bread making when there was a shortage of flour.
Although the roots are thin and stringy, they contain starch and enzymes, and are quite sweet. They need to be boiled for a long time to break down the leathery membrane. When this is done, a syrup can be made from the roots, and this is sometimes brewed into a beer.
The juice from these shoots is sometimes used as a spring tonic.
A cereal mash can be made from the seeds. The seed is very small and has a large husk surrounding it, so it would probably be more like eating fibre than cereal.
Other
The foliage is an important forage grass for many grazing mammals, the seeds are eaten by several species of birds, and some caterpillars use it as a foodplant
An infusion of the whole plant is a good liquid plant feed.
The plant has been planted in sand dunes near the coast to bind the soil together because of its long, creeping root system.
A grey dye is obtained from the roots.
Cultivation
I doubt you’ll find a need to cultivate this one. As long as it’s left alone, only a few of the buds on the root form shoots. But if it’s divided, more will form shoots, at least one per piece. This makes it difficult to get rid of. Couch grass can succeed in any soil, though it grows best in light sandy soils.
Harvest
The roots are harvested during spring or fall, and are dried whole at a maximum of 30 C/85.9 F, then chopped. The leaves are gathered when young and tender.
Fun Facts
Both Pliny and Dioscorides suggested it for improving urine flow and against kidney stones, and Culpepper is said to have stated that half an acre of couch was worth five acres of carrots twice over.
Its disinfecting and purifying action led to the burning Couch Grass as incense in order to prevent skin problems, epidemics and ward off disease-bringing demons.
This plant is also a favourite medicine of domestic cats and dogs, who will often eat quite large quantities of the leaves to induce vomiting.
At one time a decoction of couchgrass was a popular drink taken in the spring time. It was thought to purify the blood. In France today this is still a very popular method for improving health and urinary function.
It has been observed that cattle, including sheep and goats, have improved health in the spring when they begin eating this herb.
