| Menu list goes here |
Herbal Database Search Results
Back
to: Pathways Main Search
Page For Metaphysical uses
visit The Witchs Haven
Marrubium vulgare
| Common name: |
White Horehound |
Family: |
Labiatae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa, the Azores, central and western Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Downs, waste places and roadsides southwards from central Scotland, though perhaps only native near the south coast of England[17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Common Horehound [L], Hashishat Al Kalib [E], Hoarhound [H,E], Horehound [S,E,P], Itsinegiotu [E], Malrove [D], Marrubio [E], Niga-Hakka [E], Qutainah [E], White Horehound [H,L,B], Wild Horehound [H], Woolly Horehound [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
vulgare = common
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Britain
Europe Iraq Kurdistan Mexico Sicily Spain Turkey Us Us(Appalachia)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmaina. |
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.5m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to November, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Condiment
Tea.
The leaves are used as a seasoning[27]. Bitter and pungent, they are
sometimes used to flavour herb beer or liqueurs[4, 183]. Horehound ale is a
fairly well-known drink made from the leaves[4, 238].
A mild pleasantly flavoured tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves[183],
it is a favourite cough remedy[4, 46].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antidote
Antiseptic Antispasmodic Cholagogue Diaphoretic Digestive Diuretic Emmenagogue Expectorant Hepatic Stimulant Tonic.
White horehound is a well-known and popular herbal medicine that is
often used as a domestic remedy for coughs, colds, wheeziness etc[4, 254].
The herb apparently causes the secretion of a more fluid mucous, readily
cleared by coughing[254].
The leaves and young flowering stems are antiseptic, antispasmodic,
cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, strongly
expectorant, hepatic, stimulant and tonic[4, 7, 9, 21, 165, 238]. Horehound
is a very valuable pectoral, expectorant and tonic that can be safely used by
children as well as adults[4]. It is often made into a syrup or candy in
order to disguise its very bitter flavour, though it can also be taken as a
tea[4]. As a bitter tonic, it increases the appetite and supports the
function of the stomach[254]. It can also act to normalize heart rhythm[254].
The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and can be used fresh or
dried[238].
The root is a remedy for the bite of rattlesnakes, it is used in equal
portions with Plantago lanceolata or P. major[207]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Essential
Repellent.
An essential oil is obtained from the plant and used as a flavouring in
liqueurs[46].
The plant has been used as a cure for cankerworm in trees[238]. No more
details are given but it is probably a strong infusion of the flowering
shoots, or the essential oil, that is used[K].
The growing plant repels flies[201].
Cultivation details
White horehound is an easily grown plant that succeeds in most
well-drained soils[200], though it flourishes best in a poor dry soil[1, 4].
Another report says that the plant flourishes best where there is plenty of
nitrogen in the soil[274]. It prefers neutral to alkaline soil
conditions[238] and requires a warm sunny position if it is to do well[14].
Often grown in the herb garden and sometimes cultivated commercially as a
medicinal herb[4, 61]. If the plant is cut back after flowering it will
normally produce a second crop of leaves[238].
The fresh leaves have a pronounced musky smell, though this is lost once the
plant is dried[245].
A good bee plant[1].
White horehound is a good companion plant for growing near tomatoes[24]. The
tomatoes crop for a longer period and also produce a heavier crop[201].
Propagation
Seed - sow April/May or August/September in a cold frame. Germination
can be slow and erratic[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots
when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the following
spring[K].
Basal cuttings in late spring. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground
stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into
individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse
until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[1]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their
permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them
on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] SW USA Dist. Maps
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for marrubium vulgare (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.
[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Readers Comments
Main Search Page
Help
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Marrubium+vulgare
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Marrubium+vulgare
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if
you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.
|
|
& (c) 2007 
