[wikipedia] Uses: Herb Robert has been used in the folk medicine of several countries, including as a treatment for diarrhea, to improve functioning of the liver and gallbladder,[8] for toothache and nosebleeds,[9] and as a vulnerary (used for or useful in healing wounds).[10] Its common name has several possible sources: the Latin word for red, ruber; Shakespearean character Robin Goodfellow, the mischievous hobgoblin in A Midsummer Night's Dream; an early duke of Normandy named Robert who is rumored to have commissioned the Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum; or abbot and herbalist Robert of Molesme.[11][12] Freshly picked leaves have an odor resembling burning tires when crushed, and if they are rubbed on the body the smell is said to repel mosquitoes.[10]
The active ingredients are tannins, a bitter compound called geraniin, and essential oils. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)