Marrubium vulgare  L.   Lamiaceae (Mint Family)   Europe   Horehound

                                            April Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Perennial, branched from base, erect, white-wooly, 2-6 dm. tall; lvs. roundish, ovate, crenate, 1.5-4 cm. long, canescent above, tomentose below, on petioles ca. as long as blades; calyx 4-5 mm. long, 5-10 toothed, short hairy, the teeth subulate, recurved; corolla white, 5-6 mm. long, two-lipped, the upper lip erect, entire or 2 cleft, the lower spreading, 3 cleft, the middle lobe often emarginate; stamens 4; each lobe of the ovary develops into a 1-seeded nutlet, which is rounded on the back and angled on the face, grayish-brown in color, with black or dark brown granules over its surface.

Habitat:  Common pestiferous weed in waste places and old fields below 600 m., the dried calyx forming a bur.  Spring and summer.

Name:  Marrubium, from a Hebrew word meaning bitter. (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 527).  Vulgare means commonplace.  (Dale 129).

General:  Common in the study area.  Photographed along Back Bay Dr. between the Newporter Inn and San Joaquin Hills Dr. and at 23rd Street.  (my comments).      One of the most common weeds in Calif.  (Robbins et al. 368).     Since ancient times, both abroad and in North America, Horehound has been used to make a candy prized for its soothing effect on sore throats and coughs.  A tea was used by the Cahuilla Indians for flushing the kidneys.  The plant can be boiled or dried without losing its flavor, which is unusual for a member of the Mint Family.  One cup of fresh leaves or one quarter cup of dried leaves boiled in two cups of water for ten minutes will make a strong concentrate.  This concentrate can then be diluted with two parts water to one part concentrate for a tea.  One part of the concentrate may also be added to two parts sugar or honey and a pinch of cream of tartar, brought to a hard crack (290 degrees) and poured into a buttered plate for old-fashioned cough drop candy.  A cough syrup can be made of one part concentrate and two parts honey.  (Clarke 196-197).     One of the older herb manuals recommends this herb as a menstrual aid for "women to bring down their courses."  It is also recommended by earlier authorities as a general antidote for poisons, including cases of stinging or biting by poisonous snakes.  The leaves of the herb, mixed with honey, have also been recommended for cleansing of foul ulcers or to stop running or creeping sores.  (Kadens 131).     The tea, drunk hot, will help reduce feverish coughs and promote sweating; drunk cold it is a good stomach bitter, stimulating both stomach and duodenal secretions.  Chronic use for extended lengths of time can have hypertensive effects, however, particularly in relation to arterial tension.  A substitute for Hops in beer, is still sold as Horehound Ale in Europe.  (Moore,  Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West 86).       If the menses stop abnormally, horehound will bring them back.  Horehound syrup is excellent for asthma and difficult breathing.  (Kloss 249).       Horehound has been a long time medication by the Spanish-Californians as a remedy for colds and lung troubles. (Parsons 43).     Parsons book was published in 1909.  (my comment).         About 30 species of the Old World.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 527).

Text Ref:  Dale 129; Hickman, Ed. 715; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 527.

Photo Ref:  Jan 4-Feb 1 84 # 18, April 2 84 # 6A,7A.

Identity: by R. De Ruff.

First Found:  February 1984.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 69.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 6/5/05.  

                                February Photo                                                               February Photo