Prunella vulgaris
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Prunella vulgaris
Prunella vulgaris - harilik käbihein.jpg
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Prunella
Species: P. vulgaris
Binomial name
Prunella vulgaris
L.
Prunella vulgaris, the common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort or blue curls,[2][3][4][5] is a herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae.
Self-heal is edible:[2] the young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant as a whole can be boiled and eaten as a leaf vegetable; and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.[2]
Contents
1 Description
2 Range
3 Habitat
4 Uses
5 Phytochemicals
6 Etymology
7 References
Description
Closeup of flowers
Prunella vulgaris grows 5–30 cm (2.0–11.8 in) high,[6] with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at the leaf axes.[7]
The leaves are lance-shaped, serrated and reddish at the tip, about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long and 1.5 cm (0.59 in) broad, and growing in opposite pairs down the square stem.[7] Each leaf has 3-7 veins that shoot off the middle vein to the margin. The stalks of the leaves are generally short, but can be up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long.[8]
Kleine Braunelle, Blüte.jpg
The flowers grow from a clublike, somewhat square, whirled cluster; immediately below this club is a pair of stalkless leaves standing out on either side like a collar. The flowers are two-lipped and tubular. The top lip is a purple hood, and the bottom lip is often white; it has three lobes, with the middle lobe being larger and fringed upwardly. Flowers bloom at different times depending on climate and other conditions, but mostly in summer (from June to August in the USA).[7]
Self-heal propagates both by seed and vegetatively by creeping stems that root at the nodes.[9]
Two subspecies of Prunella vulgaris have been identified: var. vulgaris and var. lanceolota. [10][11]
Range
Prunella vulgaris is a perennial herb native in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, and is common in most temperate climates.[2] It was introduced to many countries in the 1800s and has become invasive in the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.[2][12] In Ireland, it is generally abundant.[13][14] This herb also grows in Kashmir where it is known as kalyuth. It is boiled in water, which used to wash and bathe in order to relieve muscle pain.[15]
Habitat
Roadsides, gardens and waste-places.[13] Woodland edges, and usually in basic and neutral soils.[7][16]
Uses
P. vulgaris var lanceolata
Prunella vulgaris is edible, and can be used in salads, soups, stews, and boiled as a pot herb.[citation needed]
The herb is used in Chinese medicine to treat dizziness, red eyes, dry cough, and dermatitis and boils.[17] It is also a main ingredient in several herbal teas in southern China.
The Nlaka'pamux drink a cold infusion of the whole plant as a common beverage.[18] The plant is traditionally used by some Indigenous cultures to treat various physical ailments.[19]
Phytochemicals
Phytochemicals include betulinic acid, D-camphor, D-fenchone, cyanidin, delphinidin, hyperoside, manganese, lauric acid, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, myristic acid, rutin, linoleic acid, ursolic acid, beta-sitosterol, lupeol, and tannins.[20][21]
Etymology
Prunella is derived from 'Brunella', a word which is itself a derivative, taken from "die Bräune", the German name for quinsy (a type of throat inflammation), which Prunella was historically used to cure.[22]
Vulgaris means 'usual', 'common', or 'vulgar'.[22]
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