SELF-HEAL
File Size: 64 KB
 
Prunella vulgaris  L.
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 2-24 inches
Family: Lamiaceae - Mint Family
Flowering Period:   June, July, August, September,October
Also Called: Heal-all.
Stems: Prostrate, decumbent, ascending, or erect, slender, weakly 4-angled, glabrous or soft hairy.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, stalked, ovate, lanceolate or oblong, 1 to 4 inches long, .25 to 1.5 inch wide, glabrous or sparsely hairy; margins entire to somewhat toothed; tips blunt to pointed.
Inflorescences: Dense spikes, 1 to 3 inches tall, terminal; flowers in whorl-like clusters, 3 flowers in axil of each bract; bracts kidney-shaped, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; margins entire; tips abruptly pointed.
Flowers: Calyces narrowly bell-shaped, green or purple, deeply 2-lipped, upper lip shallowly 3-lobed, lower lip 2-lobed, lobes sharp-pointed; corollas 2-lipped, purple, lavender, or occasionally white; upper lip resembling a spoon; lower lip much shorter than upper, 3-lobed, middle lobe fringed; stamens 4, in 2 pairs.
Fruits: 4 nutlets, egg-shaped, slightly flat, smooth, yellowish-brown, each 1-seeded.
Habitat: Shaded areas with wet soils, woods, thickets, stream banks, pond and lake edges, waste ground, and lawns.
Distribution: Principally east 1/2 of Kansas.
Uses: Native Americans steeped the foliage and roots and used the liquid as a wash for burns, cuts, eye soreness, fevers, acne, and to treat saddle sores on horses. They also took a tea made from the plant for stomachaches and diarrhea. The leaves sometimes were used as food.
Comments: Self-heal is an introduced species.
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