Prunella vulgaris (Selfheal) - photos and description
Looking straight down on plant.
Looking straight down on plants.
Stem leaf in above photo.
Basal leaves in above photo
General: Rhizomatous plants with an ascending to erect growth habit. Stems square, sparsely villous, petioles and central nerve on underside of leaf also villous.
Flowers: Flowers in dense terminal spikes, spikes measured to 45 mm long. Flowers two-lipped, the lower lip with 3 lobes. Flower colour purple to purple and white. Flower measured to 12 mm long.
Leaves: Stem leaves opposite, lanceolate, the blade of a stem leaf measured at 30 mm long by 8 mm wide. Basal leaves lanceolate to ovate, basal leaf measured at 27 mm long by 15 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 30 cm, we measured plants to 29 cm tall.
Habitat: Disturbed soil along roadsides, meadows, woodlands.
Abundance: The native variety is very rare, ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native and introduced varieties are described.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken July 9th, wet ditches and meadows alongside forest road, east central Saskatchewan, about 400 km northeast of our home in Regina, SK.