Common self-heal

Prunella vulgaris — common self-heal, heal-all or woundwort — is a low-growing perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae), 5–30 cm tall. The stems are square, creeping then ascending, little branched and slightly hairy. The leaves are opposite, ovate to lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, with entire or sparsely toothed margins and short petioles. The inflorescence is a dense, cylindrical to egg-shaped terminal spike 2–6 cm long made of tightly packed whorls; the bracts are purplish, the calyx tubular with five teeth, and the two-lipped corolla is purple, violet or blue, 10–15 mm long, the upper lip entire and the lower three-lobed, with the stamens exserted. The fruit is a small brown nutlet. In Vietnam and China it flowers from April to June and fruits from July to October, while in Europe and North America it blooms from June to September. Because the plant withers right after the summer solstice it is called 'xia ku cao' (summer-withered herb) in Chinese.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026

Prunella vulgaris is widespread across the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere (Europe, North America, North Africa and Asia), growing in meadows, roadsides, mountain slopes, field edges and moist, disturbed ground. In China and Vietnam the flower spikes (or the whole plant) are gathered in summer when the spikes begin to wither and are dried as medicine, known as 'xia ku cao'. In traditional Chinese medicine it is bitter and pungent, cooling, entering the liver and gallbladder meridians: it clears the liver, disperses nodules, brightens the eyes and reduces inflammation, and is used for red, swollen, painful eyes, excessive tearing, dizziness, headache, scrofula (tuberculous lymph nodes), boils, as a diuretic and to lower blood pressure, at a usual dose of 9–15 g per day. Modern research shows the plant contains triterpenes (ursolic and oleanolic acids), flavonoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, sterols and essential oil with antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, hypoglycaemic and anti-inflammatory activity; the decoction is also used as a gargle and wound wash. In Europe self-heal was traditionally used for sore throat, mouth inflammation and wounds. It should be used with caution in cold-deficiency of the spleen and stomach.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026