Alchemilla: Brings comfort and magic

This is the alchemists' flower -‘The Little Magical One’.  The alchemists were fascinated by the way that, under certain conditions, Alchenilla develops drops around the edges of its leaves which are not connected with rain or dew.    The liquid is funnelled by the leaf's shape from its edges to the centre where it may remain all day or leave a salty patch when it has evaporated.   We now know that the drops result from a process called guttation (from the Latin gutta, meaning drop) in which the plant rids itself of excess dissolved salts accumulated at night, through special pores called hathodes.  Medieval alchemists such as Paracelsus collected this 'heavenly dew' as part of their endeavours to produce philosophers' stone and the elixir of perpetual youth.  

Use it when you need the comfort of a loving mother and the reassurance that all will be well. Alchemilla will also conjure up magic and fire when we feel dull, trapped or stuck in a rut.

Picture © Pixabay WOMAN1965