Prunella vulgaris L. 2696 (1). P. vulgaris L., Sp. PL, ed. 1 (1753) 600; Hayek, Prodr. Fl. Penins. Balc., II (1931) 264; Smith, Fl. Eur., III (1972) 162; Brunella vulgaris Moench, Meth. (1974) 414; Стоян., Стеф., Фл. Бълг., изд, 1,11 (1925) 936 — Обикновена пришница
Fam: Labiatae (Lamiaceae) Juss.
Genus: Prunella L.
Species: Prunella vulgaris L.
English Name: Common self-heal, Heal-all, Heart-of-the-earth, Carpenter's herb, Brownwort and Blue curlsDescription: Perennial plant. The rhizome creeping or lying down. Stem creeping or lying down, single or slightly branched, (6-) 8 - 40 (-50) cm high, naked or scattered fibrous, green or slightly violet. Leaves ovate to oblong egg-shaped, blunted, entire or slightly serrated, bare or with a small hairs (1,5-) 2,2 - 3,5 (-5) cm long and (0,5-) 1 - 1,6 (-3) cm wide with petioles, 1 - 3 (4) cm long; the top leaves are seated or with very short petioles. Inflorescence rounded ovoid or short corn-like. Bracts sitting, with mesh nerve, broad ovate or almost round with more or less core base, pointed at the tip, 6 - 14 mm long and 7 - 16 mm wide, upper violet on the outside, fibrous, rarely almost nose-cut edge. The calyx is 7 - 9 mm long, at the bottom usually with long hair, two-mouth; lower lip 2-piece with 2 lancets, nude or more or less fibrous; the upper lip broad, cut with three short sharp teeth; the edge between the lateral and the middle tooth rounded. Corolla dark violet or hardly ever white, (9) 10 - 13 (-16) mm long, with straight tube, concave on the top, naked or with rare hairs on the outer side, bottom lip longer with a medial tooth, lateral shares entire. The stamens hidden beneath the upper lip; the stamen petioles on the tip with a long sloping growth. The stigma is equal or slightly shorter than the corolla. The walnuts are ovate to elliptic, shiny, brown, 1.5 - 2 mm long and 1 mm wide.
From „Флора на НР България”, том IX, БАН, София (1989) * * *
Prunella vulgaris (known as common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort and blue curls)[1][2][3] is a herbaceous plant in the genus Prunella.
Self-heal is edible: the young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant in whole can be boiled and eaten as a potherb; and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.[citation needed]Description
Prunella vulgaris grows 5 to 30 cm high[4] (2-12inches), with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at leaf axis.[5]
The leaves are lance shaped, serrated and reddish at the tip, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long and 1.5 cm (half an inch) broad, and growing in opposite pairs down the square stem.[5] Each leaf has 3-7 veins that shoot off the middle vein to the margin. The stalks of the leaves are generally short, but can be up to 5 cm (2 inches) long.[6]
The flowers grow from a clublike, somewhat square, whirled cluster; immediately below this club is a pair of stalkless leaves standing out on either side like a collar. Flowers are two lipped and tubular. The top lip is a purple hood, and the bottom lip is often white; it has three lobes, with the middle lobe being larger and fringed upwardly. Flowers bloom at different times depending on climate and other conditions, but mostly in summer (from June to August in the USA).[5]
Self-heal propagates both by seed and vegetatively by creeping stems that root at the nodes.[7]Range
Heal-all is a perennial herb found throughout Europe, Asia and North America, as well as most temperate climates. In Ireland it is generally abundant.[8][9]
Habitat
Roadsides, gardens and waste-places.[8] Woodland edges, and usually in basic and neutral soils.[5][10]
Edibility
Heal-all is edible, and can be used in salads, soups, stews, and boiled as a pot herb. The Cherokee cooked and ate the young leaves. The Nlaka'pamux drank a cold infusion of the whole plant as a common beverage.[11] The plant contains vitamins A, C, and K, as well as flavonoids and rutin.[12]
Folk medicine
The plant is considered by the Chinese to "change the course of a chronic disease".[11]
Chemistry
The plant's chemical constituents include betulinic acid, D-camphor, D-fenchone, cyanidin, delphinidin, hyperoside, manganese, lauric acid, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, myristic acid, rutin, linoleic acid, ursolic acid, beta-sitosterol, lupeol, and tannins.[12][13]
Etymology
Prunella is derived from 'Brunella', a word which is itself a derivative, taken from "die Bräune", the German name for quinsy (a type of throat inflammation), which it was historically used to cure.[14]
Vulgaris means 'usual', 'common', or 'vulgar'.[14]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia * * * Flowering Time: Blooms: V - IX, Fruitful: VI - X.
Distribution in Bulgaria: Growing in grassy places, meadows, courtyards, gardens. Distributed from sea level to 2600 m altitude. (Conspectus of the Bulgarian Vascular Flora) = conspectus&gs_l= Zlc. Distribution: Europe, Asia. Introduced in Australia, Africa, North and South America.
Conservation status and threats: not protected species in Bulgaria by the Biodiversity Law. - Biological Diversity Act - http://eea.government.bg/bg/legislation/biodiversity/zbran_22.08.15.pdf
Medical plant: yes, it is - Medicinal Plants Act - http://eea.government.bg/bg/legislation/biodiversity/ZLR_en.pdf
References: „Флора на НР България”, том IX, БАН, София (1989), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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