In ancient times on bloody battlefields common moss was used as a wound dressing to staunch the flow of blood and help sterilise the wound.
The common moss we see in shady slightly damp places is now little used in herbal medicine, although I have read the spores of the plant were used as a diuretic and to ease stomach aches as well as an application to wounds.
However Irish moss, Carageenan, is still extensively used, especially in the food industry. As a medicine it has nutritive and restorative properties and is soothing for the lungs and bladder.
If you look at the ingredients of foods, many times it will be Carageenan, an extract of Irish moss that is used as the thickener.
Linda Bostock
Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information
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