Self-Heal

Self heal  Prunella vulgaris

Common Name: Self-heal Latin : Prunella vulgaris   Family: Lamiaceae   
History and/or use:.Excellent astringent for wounds and for internal bleeding. 
 Widlife Value: Ground cover and nectar provider. 


Self heal survives well in grasslands, waste spaces and more open woodlands. A close cut lawn in summer can look beautiful with the purple flowers of self heal to enliven the otherwise monocultural sward. There is a rarer species known as the cut-leaved self heal ( Prunella laciniata) which has cut leaves and white flowers.
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Both the Latin and common name of this plant point to its continued use as a herb. Prunella or Brunella is the German name for a sore throat. Dioscorides knew of the plant’s use for sore throats and treated inflammations of the throat and tonsils with this plant.

The common name of self heal as well as the folk names of hook- heal, sickly-wort and carpenter's herb all
imply an obvious link to medicinal usage. In the doctrines of signatures (the concept that every plant has a signature that tells us its use), the flower of this plant is said to resemble a hook and as in the past the most common wounds were from billhooks and sickles this implied its use to stanch bleeding.
Self heal does staunch bleeding effectively and is also used for internal bleeding as a syrup or as a tea.
It is also used for respiratory complaints, piles and in Ireland to treat heart trouble. It is less known as a cure for colds.

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