Missouri Wildflower - Prunella vulgaris - Self-heal
by Debbie Portwood
Title
Missouri Wildflower - Prunella vulgaris - Self-heal
Artist
Debbie Portwood
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Close up of the flower head of a wild plant named Prunella vulgaris commonly called Self Heal................Herb gardeners hold differing opinions about self-heal. Some welcome its cheerful violet flowers in the summer herbal lawn while others revile the plant as a pesky weed of the herb garden or grass-only lawn. Few grow it intentionally in the herb garden, and some may not be acquainted with the plant at all. This situation is a far cry from three and four centuries ago, when herbalists held self-heal in high esteem, perhaps with good reason.
Description
Self-heal, a member of the mint family, looks much like a mint but lacks a minty or other aromatic fragrance. In fact, the plant has virtually no odor. Native to Eurasia, this herb is at home in much of North America and is hardy at least in zones 4 through 9.
Self-heal�s square stems arise from a fibrous rootstock and sprawl along the ground 2 feet or more before turning upward. This habit makes the flower heads appear to be carried on stems only a foot or so high (less in a lawn). The leaves are medium green, opposite, rounded at the base and pointed or blunt at the tip. The edges are slightly wavy or toothed. The lower leaves are stalked, but the two leaves immediately below the flower head have little to no stalk. The stem and leaves are slightly hairy. The flower head is a stubby spike made up of numerous whorls of six florets each. Each whorl has a pair of green-veined whitish bracts beneath it. Each floret has a brownish purple toothed calyx that contains a violet two-parted corolla. The upper part, which is often more intense in color, forms a little hood, and the lower is a three-parted apron, a handy landing platform for insect pollinators. As the flower head matures, the spike elongates but remains more or less fatly cylindrical. At a distance, the flower head looks brown and purple because only some of the florets are open at once. The flowers attract bees and butterflies.........................find more information on the many uses for self-heal on google or the Missoui Conservation site.
Uploaded
July 3rd, 2015
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