Prunella vulgaris

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Lamiaceae
Subfamilia: Nepetoideae
Tribus: Mentheae
Subtribus: Prunellinae
Genus: Prunella
Species: Prunella vulgaris
Subspecies: P. v. subsp. asiatica – P. v. subsp. estremadurensis – P. v. subsp. hispida – P. v. subsp. lanceolata – P. v. subsp. vulgaris
Name

Prunella vulgaris L., Sp. Pl.: 600 (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Prunella vulgaris subsp. parviflora Ehrh., Hannover. Mag. 18: 226 (1780), not validly publ.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Temp. & Subtrop. Northern Hemisphere
Afghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Algeria, Altay, Amur, Arizona, Arkansas, Assam, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, California, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Central European Rus, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colorado, Connecticut, Corse, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Delaware, Denmark, District of Columbia, Dominican Republic, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, East Himalaya, Finland, Florida, France, Føroyar, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece,itzerland.html">Switzerland, Guatemala, Hainan, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Irkutsk, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kamchatka, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kriti, Krym, Kuril Is., Labrador, Lebanon-Syria, Louisiana, Madeira, Maine, Manchuria, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Morocco, Nansei-shoto, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Caucasus, North Dakota, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Norway, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Pennsylvania, Poland, Portugal, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Qinghai, Québec, Rhode I., Romania, Sakhalin, Sardegna, Saskatchewan, Sicilia, Sinai, South Carolina, South Dakota, South European Russi, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tennessee, Texas, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Ukraine, Utah, Uzbekistan, Vermont, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Himalaya, West Siberia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya, Yugoslavia
Introduced into:
Amsterdam-St.Paul Is, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Colombia, Falkland Is., Hawaii, Juan Fernández Is., New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norfolk Is., Peru, Tristan da Cunha, Venezuela

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 600. Reference page.

Additional references

Komarov, V.L. et al. (eds.). 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. 30 vols. Moscow/Leningrad: Botanicheskii institut, Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR. Reference page.
Rechinger, K. H. (ed.) 1963+. Flora Iranica: Flora des iranischen Hochlandes und der umrahmenden Gebirge, Persien, Afghanistan, Teile von West-Pakistan, Nord-Iraq, Azerbaidjan, Turkmenistan. Vols. 1–181, Akademische Verlagsanstalt, Graz (1–174), Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, ISBN 978-3-201-00728-3. Reference page.
Davis, P.H. (ed.) 1965–1988. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. 9 vols. + Supplement. University Press, Edinburgh. Reference page.
Wu Zhengyi, Raven, P.H. & Hong Deyuan (eds.) 1994–2013. Flora of China. 25 vols. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. Online at eFloras.org Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Prunella vulgaris in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 March 25. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Prunella vulgaris. Published online. Accessed: 25 March 2019.

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Adi Boğazotu
žemaitėška: Joudgalvielė
беларуская: Чорнагалоў звычайны
català: Prunel·la vulgar
kaszëbsczi: Zwëczajnô brunelka
čeština: Černohlávek obecný
Cymraeg: Y feddyges las
dansk: Almindelig Brunelle
Deutsch: Kleine Braunelle
English: Selfheal
español: Consuelda menor
eesti: Harilik käbihein
فارسی: نعناع چمنی
suomi: Niittyhumala
français: Brunelle commune
hrvatski: Obična celinščica
hornjoserbsce: Mały jězončik
magyar: Közönséges gyíkfű
íslenska: Blákolla
italiano: Prunella comune
日本語: ウツボグサ
한국어: 꿀풀
lietuvių: Paprastoji juodgalvė
Nederlands: Gewone Brunel
norsk nynorsk: Blåkoll
norsk: Blåkoll
polski: Głowienka pospolita
português: Brunéla
русский: Черноголовка обыкновенная
slovenčina: Čiernohlávok obyčajný
svenska: Brunört
ไทย: แฮ่โกวเฉ่า
Türkçe: Yara otu
українська: Суховершки звичайні
vepsän kel’: Hernehhein
中文（简体）: 夏枯草
中文（繁體）: 夏枯草
中文（臺灣）: 夏枯草
粵語: 夏枯草
中文: 夏枯草

Prunella vulgaris, the common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort or blue curls,[1][2][3][4] is a herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae.

Self-heal is edible:[1] 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.[1]

Description
Closeup of flowers

Prunella vulgaris grows 5–30 cm (2.0–11.8 in) high,[5] with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at the leaf axes.[6]

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.[6] 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.[7]
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).[6]

Self-heal propagates both by seed and vegetatively by creeping stems that root at the nodes.[8]

Two subspecies of Prunella vulgaris have been identified: var. vulgaris and var. lanceolota. [9][10]
Range

Prunella vulgaris is a perennial herb native in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, and is common in most temperate climates.[1] It was introduced to many countries in the 1800s and has become invasive in the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.[1][11] In Ireland, it is generally abundant.[12][13] 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.[14]
Habitat

Roadsides, gardens and waste-places.[12] Woodland edges, and usually in basic and neutral soils.[6][15]
Uses
P. vulgaris var lanceolata

Prunella vulgaris is edible, and can be used in salads, soups, stews, and boiled as a pot herb. The Nlaka'pamux drank a cold infusion of the whole plant as a common beverage.[16]

The plant has been used by aboriginal cultures to treat various physical ailments.[17]
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.[18][19]
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.[20]

Vulgaris means 'usual', 'common', or 'vulgar'.[20]
References

"Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)". CABI. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
Gray, Samuel F. (1821). Natural Arrangement of British Plants: According to Their Relations to Each Other, as Pointed Out by Jussieu, De Candolle, Brown &c... vol 2. Baldwin, Cradock and Joy. p. 389.
Lust, John (2014). The Herb Book: The Most Complete Catalog of Herbs Ever Published (Dover republication ed.). USA: Courier Corporation. p. 399. ISBN 9780486794785.
Fisher, Robert (1932). The English Names of Our Commonest Wild Flowers ... T. Buncle & Company. p. 195.
Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. p. 347. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-04656-4
"Conservation Plant Characteristics for Prunella vulgaris L. (common selfheal)". Plants Database. United States Department of Agriculture.
Duke, James (2001). "Prunella vulgaris". Handbook of Edible Weeds. CRC. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8493-2946-3.
DiTomaso, Joseph M.; Healy, Evelyn A. (2007). Weeds of California and Other Western States, Volume 1. ANR. p. 884. ISBN 978-1-879906-69-3.
"Calflora: Plant Search". www.calflora.org. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
"Prunella vulgaris key to species, Jepson eFlora". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
PIER, 2016. Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press. ISBN 978-185918-4783
Scannell, M.P. and Synnott, D.M. 1972 Census Catalogue of the Flora of Ireland. Dublin Stationery Office
Fayaz, Mufida; Jain, Ashok K.; Bhat, Musadiq Hussain; Kumar, Amit (2019). "Ethnobotanical Survey of Daksum Forest Range of Anantnag District, Jammu and Kashmir, India". Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants. 25: 55–67. doi:10.1080/10496475.2018.1564950. S2CID 92152206.
Foster, Steven; Hobbs, Christopher (2002). "Self-heal, Heal-All". A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-395-83806-8.
Meuninck, Jim (2008). Medicinal Plants of North America: A Field Guide. Globe Pequot. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7627-4298-1.
Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
Khare, C.P. (2007). Indian Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated Dictionary. Springer. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-387-70637-5.
Duke, James A.; Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M. (2001). Handbook of Medicinal Mints (Aromathematics): Phytochemicals and Biological Activities. CRC. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-8493-2724-7.
Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 316, 404