Crosswort

Description

Spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. Pollination is by bees and flies. Cruciata laevipes is found in meadows, road verges, riverbanks, scrub and open woodland, generally on well-drained calcareous soils. Little used in herbal medicine today, but it was once recommended as a remedy for rupture, rheumatism and dropsy. Bald’s Leechbook recommended crosswort as a cure for headaches.