Scientific Name Stachys officinalis
Common Name Wood Betony, Purple Betony, Bishopwart
Botanical Family Lamiaceae
In S2E7 (11:48), as Vanessa and Ethan are walking along the moor and collecting berries and plants, Vanessa points out Wood Betony, telling Ethan that it attracts bees for honey, and when crushed and put into your pillow, it prevents nightmares.
The idea that S. officinalis can cure bad dreams and nightmares actually comes from an Anglo Saxon Herbal (a “herbal” is a collection of plant descriptions put together for medicinal purposes, much like Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica). A Welsh tradition tells us to use S. offincialis to prevent bad dreams by hanging the leaves around your neck, or drinking the juice of the flower before going to bed. The flower is a perennial grassland herb, and in the British Isles, it is common in England and Wales, but rare in Ireland and Northern Scotland.
Supposedly, the first reference to the plant was made by Antonius Musa, a Roman physician, who believed that S. officinalis was effective against sorcery.
References
Bonser Wilfrid, “Magical Practices against Elves” Folklore, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Dec. 31, 1926), pp. 350-363.
United States Natural Resources and Conservation Service
Penny Dreadful Archives 