Mentha satureoides

Common Name: Native Penny Royal

Transcript of Aunty Fran Bodkin explaining the uses of Mentha satureoides:

The Mentha satureoides, this is my favourite. The whole plant was bruised and boiled and the liquid given to women who were suffering menstrual disorders, it stopped the pain and also stops pain that women get when they’re suffering from menopause. But there is a great use and a lot of people, because it’s such a little insignificant plant, (don’t realise) and you walk on it and get a nice peppermint smell you just really don’t notice it but it stops lice in children’s hair. Down our way we’ve planted it in all the schools and the mums just pick some and rub their kids head with it and it repels lice. It also (helps) the wombats – how we discovered it was that,

the wombats used to roll in it to stop the mites that gave them the mange but when the white men came the cows really loved it and so they ate it all.

And now there’s only tiny little pockets of it left which is why the poor old wombats are still suffering from the mange.

The liquid was boiled and when it was cool enough to drink it was taken to relieve stomach cramps. The leaves where bruised and them soaked in hot water and taken to relieve the discomfort of colds.