Lithospermum officinale L., Common Gromwell
Account Summary
Native or possibly a garden escape, very rare and now locally extinct. Eurosiberian temperate, but widely naturalised.
1939; Praeger, R.Ll.; roadside near Crom Castle Estate.
Growth form and preferred habitats
L. officinale is a shortly rhizomatous perennial with erect stems, 30-100 cm tall, much branched above and leafy, bearing alternate, sessile, lanceolate leaves with blades 2-8 × 1-2 cm. The leaf surfaces have distinct lateral nerves and are pubescent and rough to the touch (Launert 1981; Sell & Murrell 2009). It flowers during June and July, producing dense, leafy, terminal and axillary cymose inflorescences of bisexual flowers. The inflorescences elongate after flowering as the fruits develop.
The yellowish- or greenish-white corolla is not much longer than the calyx and is 3-4 cm in diameter. The flower parts are in fives, the corolla funnel-shaped, its throat containing hairy longitudinal folds or scales. The five stamens are attached to the middle of the corolla tube; the filaments and anthers are yellow. The ovary is superior, of two carpels, each containing two ovules. There is a solitary short style, 1-2 mm and a bifid stigma. Pollination is mainly by bees and flies (Fitter 1987). The fruit consists of four, pale pearly grey, shining, ovoid nutlets or achenes – ie single seeded dry fruits (Hickey & King 1981; Clapham et al. 1987; Sell & Murrell 2009). There is no explanation as to how the nutlets are released and dispersed in Ridley (1930) and the current author (RSF) is at a loss to come up with any dispersal mechanism, other than possibly birds feeding on them and some of the hard fruits passing through the gizzard and alimentary canal intact (van der Pijl 1972, p. 27).
Common Gromwell is a plant of dry, grassy, lowland vegetation in semi-shade on woodland margins, in scrub, hedges and on more open ground on sandy banks, roadsides and quarries. It almost always occurs on calcareous or base-rich, sometimes rocky, soils (Garrard & Streeter 1983). It can tolerate moderate levels of shade but prefers full sun conditions (Fitter 1987). The established strategy of L. officinale is categorised as intermediate between Stress-tolerant Competitor and a generalist Competitive, Stress-tolerant, Ruderal species combining features of all three types of ecological approaches (SC/CSR) (Grime et al. 1988, 2007).
Fossil record and species status
The solitary B & I fossil of this species was found in Norwich in a post-medieval context, dated between 1500 and 1700 AD (Tomlinson & Hall, website article, last updated Aug 1996: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue1/tomlinson/toc.html) (website accessed 18 July 2022). Similar suggestions of doubtful native status apply in Scotland and, in the absence of any pre-Neolithic fossil material of such a hard-seeded species (Godwin 1975), in the view of the current author (RSF), the question remains wide open in both these countries, or even indeed throughout the whole of B & I.
Fermanagh occurrence
In Fermanagh, L. officinale has only ever been recorded twice: both discoveries were made in the SE corner of the county, in 1939 and 1949. As it has not been seen for over 50 years it is assumed to be locally extinct. There is a voucher in BEL for Praeger's first record listed above and the details of the second station are: at the Old Ulster Canal near Wattle Bridge, 1949, MCM & D.
Irish occurrence
The Cen Cat Fl Ir 2 indicates that previously it has been recorded (at least once), in 34 of the 40 VCs on the island, but as is often the case, this is not the whole story. In reality, Common Gromwell is very rare, local and widely scattered in Ireland and populations of the species have been declining since before 1930 (BSBI Atlas 2; New Atlas).
The New Atlas map for Ireland shows L. officinale sparsely scattered, mainly around the Belfast area of Co Antrim (H39) and in eastern Tyrone (H36), with a few isolated hexads in Co Armagh (H37) and Fermanagh (H33). The date classes of these records, however, show that it is even less present than a first glance might suggest. Across NI only one record in Tyrone has the most recent 'post-86' date class; three records date from 1970-86 and eight other hexads are of pre-1970 vintage.
L. officinale appears to have declined everywhere in Ireland and it most certainly has in NI. The Flora of Northern Ireland web site describes it as a rare plant of quarries and rocky places, ie strictly open habitats where it can avoid competition to some degree. Nowadays, it exists only as a pioneer colonist of disturbed ground, or as a ruderal species. Mackay (1825, 1836) pointed in much the same direction, "Dry, waste and uncultivated places, and among rubbish.", although at the time he added, "frequent".
Being confined to dry, disturbed ground makes it very likely that Common Gromwell is at its 'last stand', on the downhill road towards local extinction. The species appears insufficiently competitive to maintain even this role in the long term without repeated fresh introductions to the wild from medicinal herb garden stock, and the plant is no longer commonly cultivated, if at all.
British occurrence
In Britain, it is also widely distributed but a decidedly local species of lowland areas lying S of a line from the Tyne to the Severn. It is scarce and coastal in Wales and the SW of England, while in Scotland it is again very rare and thinly scattered (Perring & Walters 1976; Preston et al. 2002). There has been a marked, prolonged decline in the species across B & I, especially in Scotland and N England where major losses occurred pre-1930 (D. Welch, in: Preston et al. 2002).
European and world occurrence
L. officinale appears to be native in large parts of temperate Europe and W & C Asia stretching eastwards to Siberia and the Himalaya, although some occurrences are certainly adventive herb garden escapes (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 1539). It is absent from Crete, the eastern Mediterranean isles and N Africa, but has been introduced in C & S Africa, Ethiopia and also in N America, including Barbados. Although it has been recorded well towards the north in coastal Norway, it is absent from Orkney, Shetland, Iceland and the Faeroes (Hultén & Fries 1986).
Uses
The plants contain silicic acids and calcium compounds that are the active ingredients in its medicinal uses. The Latin specific epithet of this plant informs us that L. officinale had uses in herbal medicine and it appears it was Dioscorides himself who recommended it as a cure for internal stones, referring to the fruits as 'stone seed'. The hard-coated seed provided the clue to this medicinal use, following the well-known 'Doctrine of Signatures'.
The mature nutlets are the useful part of the plant and, when ground to a powder, they are both diuretic and labor inducing (Launert 1981). If seed is not available, the whole plant can be substituted, but it is not as effective (Culpeper 1653). Report of the medicinal treatment of kidney stones appears in Ireland (Co Londonderry) by 1834, but its use for this purpose must have been practised very much earlier. A record from Meath – a region where L. officinale was at one time locally abundant – referred to it as 'Grumble seed'. It is reported that it was collected along the banks of the River Boyne and the fruits boiled to treat kidney trouble, presumably again treating kidney and bladder stones. Mixed with a little water, it was also taken for arthritis and febrile conditions (Launert 1981; Allen & Hatfield 2004). "The powdered seed mixed in women's breast milk, is very effectual to procure a very speedy delivery to such women as have sore pains in their travail, and cannot be delivered." (Culpeper 1653).
Common Gromwell appears in a list of medieval garden plants of NW Europe, making its first written appearance in 1265 AD (Harvey 1981). Thus there are good grounds for suggesting that L. officinale might have been introduced and cultivated by herbalists throughout B & I, and it might possibly have been used medicinally for many centuries.
Names
The genus name 'Lithospermum' is from Greek 'lithos', 'stone' and 'sperma', 'a seed', given by Dioscorides. The Latin specific epithet 'officinale' meant the plant was kept at the druggist's 'shop' (officina), indicating that it was used medicinally (Gilbert-Carter 1964). The English common name 'Gromwell', in more modern books, was also spelt 'Gremil' and 'Gromall' by Lyte (1578). Further alternatives were 'Grommell', 'Gromaly', 'Gromyl', 'Gromyll' and 'Greymile' or 'Grey Myle' (Turner 1548). Turner says that Lithospermum was called 'Herbaries Milium solis', 'Millet of the sun', or 'Granum solis' on account of its hard, glistening or shining seeds.
Grigson (1955, 1987) gives the Old French name derived from this as 'Gremil', and in modern French as 'Grémil'. The first syllable 'gré-' suggested 'grey', and the second syllable '-mil' is from the Latin 'milium', 'millet', referring to the hard seed. Other English common names include 'Lichwale', 'Lithewale' or 'Lychwale' and 'Lychworte' (from the first edition of the Grete Herball (Anonymous 1526)), 'Little Wale', or 'Littlewale'. Some of these are probably misprints or mis-copying in old herbals! 'Pearl-plant' and 'Stonyhard' both refer to the hard, white nutlets of the species (Britten & Holland 1886).
Threats
None.