Selfheal
Prunella vulgaris
Family · Lamiaceae · Harmless
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The low mint with a squared purple spike that turns up in damp lawns and shaded paths. It was Europe's wound herb, and the English name, heal-all, says what was expected of it.
Fields and pasture · Uplands · Roadsides and waste ground · Oak woods
Also known asheal-all, woundwort
How to tell it
A short, dense spike, clearly square in section, with tiled bracts and violet flowers with a fringed lip. A four-angled stem, creeping at the base and upright at the tip. Oval opposite leaves.
What it is confused with
Bugle
Ajuga reptans
Both low mints with bluish flowers in damp places. Bugle has an elongated spike and a stem hairy on two sides only; selfheal has a short, clearly square spike. Both harmless.
What it is for
Traditional external use on wounds and mouth inflammations, across Europe and in China. The young leaves are eaten in salad. None of this replaces treatment.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.