Couch Grass

Agropyron repens

COMMON NAMES

• Couch Grass
  Dog Grass
  Quack Grass
  Witchgrass

Vigorous perennial growing to 32 in (80 cm). Couch grass  has a long, creeping rhizome, slender leaves, and erect spikes bearing green flowers aligned in two rows.

In classical times, both Dioscorides (AD 40-90) and Pliny (AD 23- 79) recommended couch grass root for poor urine flow and kidney stones. In 1597, the herbalist John Gerard wrote that "Couch-grasse be an unwelcome guest to fields and gardens, yet his physicke virtues do recompense those hurts; for it openeth the stoppings of the liver and reins [ureters] without heat." In times of famine, the root has been roasted and ground as a substitute for coffee and flour.

PARTS USED

Rhizome, seeds, root.

USES

A gentle, effective diuretic and demulcent, couch grass is most commonly used for urinary tract infections such as cystitis and urethritis. It both protects the urinary tubules against infection and irritants, and increases the volume of urine, thereby diluting it. Couch grass can be taken, usually with other herbs, to help treat kidney stones, reducing the irritation and laceration they cause. Couch grass is also thought to dissolve kidney stones (insofar as possible), and in any case will help to prevent their further enlargement. Both an enlarged prostate and prostatitis will benefit from a couch grass decoction taken over the course of several months. Couch grass has been used in the past for the treatment of gout and rheumatism. In German herbal medicine, heated couch grass seeds are used in a hot and moist pack that is applied to the abdomen to soothe peptic ulcers. Juice from the roots of couch grass has been used to treat jaundice and other liver complaints.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Found in Europe, the Americas, northern Asia, and Australia, couch grass is an invasive weed. Couch grass is harvested throughout the year.

CONSTITUENTS

Couch grass contains polysaccharides (such as triticin), a volatile oil (mainly agropyrene), mucilage, and nutrients. Agropyrene has antibiotic properties.

USUAL DOSAGE

Decoction: put 2 teaspoonfuls of the cut rhizome in a cup of water, bring to the boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 3 - 6ml of the tincture three times a day.

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