Prunella (plant)
| Prunella | |
|---|---|
| |
| Prunella vulgaris (Common Self-heal) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Nepetoideae |
| Tribe: | Mentheae |
| Genus: | Prunella L. |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Prunella is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Lamiaceae, also known as self-heals, heal-all, or allheal for their use in herbal medicine.
Habitat
Most are native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but Prunella vulgaris (the Common Self-heal) is Holarctic in distribution, occurring in North America as well, and is a common lawn weed. Prunellas are low-growing plants, and thrive in moist wasteland and grass, spreading rapidly to cover the ground. They are members of the mint family and have the square stem common to mints.[1][2][3]
Biological descriptions
The common name "self-heal" derives from the use of some species to treat a range of minor disorders. Self-heal can be grown from seed, or by dividing clumps in spring or autumn.
- Species[1]
- Prunella albanica Pénzes - Albania
- Prunella × bicolor Beck - parts of Europe (P. grandiflora × P. laciniata)
- Prunella × codinae Sennen - Spain (P. hyssopifolia × P. laciniata)
- Prunella cretensis Gand. - Crete
- Prunella × gentianifolia Pau - Spain (P. hyssopifolia × P. vulgaris)
- Prunella grandiflora (L.) Scholler - central + southern Europe from Caucasus to Russia; Caucasus
- Prunella hyssopifolia L. - Spain, France, Italy, Morocco
- Prunella × intermedia Link - central + southwestern Europe (P. laciniata × P. vulgaris)
- Prunella laciniata (L.) L - central + southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East
- Prunella orientalis Bornm. - Turkey, Syria
- Prunella prunelliformis (Maxim.) Makino - Japan
- Prunella × surrecta Dumort. - central + southwestern Europe (P. grandiflora × P. vulgaris)
- Prunella vulgaris L. - widespread in Europe, North Africa, Asia, North America; naturalized in New Zealand parts of South America
Subspecies are[4]
- Prunella vulgaris ssp. aleutica (Fernald) Hultén – Aleutian selfheal
- Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata (W. Bartram) Hultén – lance selfheal
- Prunella vulgaris ssp. vulgaris (L.) – common selfheal
Uses
Traditional medicine
| Dried Prunella | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 夏枯草 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 夏枯草 | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
In the Pacific Northwest, its juice was used by the Quinault and the Quileute on boils.[5] They also used the whole plant to treat cuts and inflammations.[6] Ointments can be made by fixing[clarification needed] the plant with grease. Dried Prunella (Chinese: 夏枯草) is used to make a herbal drink. Prunella is also used for halitosis, especially when combined with other herbs (e.g. perilla, field mint, etc.). [1]
Food uses
The mildly bitter leaves are also good as salad greens. Prunella species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora albitarsella.[citation needed]
As a health supplement
Prunella vulgaris is used as an ingredient in some bodybuilding supplements.
References
- ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 134 夏枯草 xia ku cao Prunella vulgaris Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 600. 1753.
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Prunella includes photos plus range maps for Europe + North America
- ^ "Prunella vulgaris L." www.itis.gov. ITIS. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ Plant Fact Sheet
- ^ "Prunella spike History..." Archived from the original on 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2017-06-02.