Herb Robert

Herb Robert is an intriguing little flower with a name to match. It has been a ingredient of folk medicine in the treatment of liver complaints and may be named after the canonised herbalist Robert of Molesme. Alternatively, it refers to Robin Goodfellow, the mythical English sprite or goblin, sometimes called Puck. He was believed to aid housewives in their labours, in return for sufficient payment of bread, which, if denied, would provoke his more malevolent side.

Medicine is remarkable. It is the closest thing we have to old fashioned magic, so there is little wonder ancient superstitions survive in its names. Yet its real origins lie in the Creator’s mercy. Made before man ever fell, God provided the means by which dying Adam might assuage and lessen the pains of the corrupted world he unwittingly bequeathed. God graciously hid in His creation temporal remedies for our plight: fuel, medicine, vitamins and beautiful minerals through which we might imagine the heaven we lost and the hope of redemption.

"For I am the Lord who heals you." Exodus 15:26