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Herbs & Plants

Epilobium angustifolium

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Botanical Name: Epilobium angustifolium
Family: Onagraceae
Genus: Chamerion
Species: C. angustifolium
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Myrtales

Synonyms: Flowering Willow. French Willow. Persian Willow. Rose Bay Willow. Blood Vine. Blooming Sally. Purple Rocket. Wickup. Wicopy. Tame Withy. Chamaenerion angustifolium.

Common Names: Fireweed (mainly in North America), Great willow-herb (some parts of Canada), or Rosebay willowherb (mainly in Britain)
Habitat:Epilobium angustifolium is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including large parts of the boreal forests.  It grows on the rocky ground, waste areas, woodland edges and gardens.

Description:
Epilobium angustifolium is a perennial herbaceous plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. The reddish stems of this plant are usually simple, erect, smooth, 0.5–2.5 m (1½–8 feet) high with scattered alternate leaves. The leaves are entire, lanceolate, and pinnately veined. A related species, dwarf fireweed (Chamerion latifolium), grows to 0.3–0.6 m tall.

The flowers have four magenta to pink petals, 2 to 3 cm in diameter. The styles have four stigmas, which occur in symmetrical terminal racemes.

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The reddish-brown linear seed capsule splits from the apex. It bears many minute brown seeds, about 300 to 400 per capsule and 80,000 per plant. The seeds have silky hairs to aid wind dispersal and are very easily spread by the wind, often becoming a weed and a dominant species on disturbed ground. Once established, the plants also spread extensively by underground roots, an individual plant eventually forming a large patch…

The leaves of fireweed are unique in that the leaf veins are circular and do not terminate on the edges of the leaf, but form circular loops and join together inside the outer leaf margins. This feature makes the plants very easy to identify in all stages of growth. When fireweed first emerges in early spring, it can closely resemble several highly toxic members of the lily family, however, it is easily identified by its unique leaf vein structure.

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained but moisture retentive soil in a sunny position, though it succeeds in most soils. It prefers a moist soil, but also succeeds on dry banks. It is best grown in open woodland. Plants are hardy to at least -20°c. The rosebay willowherb spreads vigorously by means of a creeping rhizome, and often forms large patches. It is apt to become a weed especially through its seed which is very light and capable of travelling long distances in the wind. It is often one of the first plants to colonize disturbed areas such as scenes of fires. A very ornamental plant, it is the floral emblem of the Yukon. A food plant for the caterpillars of several lepidoptera species, it is also a good bee plant.

Propagation:
Seed – sow early spring in situ or as soon as the seed is ripe. This plant is more than capable of finding its own way into most gardens and does not usually require an invitation. Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Edible Uses:  The young shoots were often collected in the spring by Native American people and mixed with other greens. As the plant matures the leaves become tough and somewhat bitter. The southeast Native Americans use the stems in this stage. They are peeled and eaten raw. When properly prepared soon after picking they are a good source of vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. The Dena’ina add fireweed to their dogs’ food.

The root can be roasted after scraping off the outside, but often tastes bitter. To mitigate this, the root is collected before the plant flowers and the brown thread in the middle removed.

In Alaska, candies, syrups, jellies, and even ice cream are made from fireweed. Monofloral honey made primarily from fireweed nectar has a distinctive, spiced flavor.

In Russia, its leaves are used as tea substitute and were exported, known in Western Europe as Koporye Tea or Russian Tea. Fireweed leaves can undergo fermentation, much like real tea. Today, koporye tea is still occasionally consumed though not commercially important.

Part used in medicine : The Herb

Medicinal Uses:
The roots and leaves have demulcent, tonic and astringent properties and are used in domestic medicine in decoction, infusion and cataplasm, as astringents.

Used much in America as an intestinal astringent.

The plant contains mucilage and tannin.

The dose of the herb is 30 to 60 grains. It has been recommended for its antispasmodic properties in the treatment of whoopingcough, hiccough and asthma.

In ointment, it has been used locally as a remedy for infantile cutaneous affections.

By some modern botanists, this species is now assigned to a separate genus and designated: Chamcenerion angustifolium.

Chamerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium) herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea for treatment of disorders of the prostate, kidneys, and urinary tract.

Fireweed’s natural variation in ploidy has prompted its use in scientific studies of polyploidy’s possible effects on adaptive potential and species diversification.

Fireweed is also a medicine of the Upper Inlet Dena’ina, who treat pus-filled boils or cuts by placing a piece of the raw stem on the afflicted area. This is said to draw the pus out of the cut or boil and prevents a cut with pus in it from healing over too quickly.
Other Uses:
A fibre obtained from the outer stems is used to make cordage. The ‘cottony’ seed hairs are used as a stuffing material or as a tinder. The powdered inner cortex is applied to the hands and face to give protection from the cold.

Known Hazards  : An infusion of the leaves is said to stupefy a person.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wilher23.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Epilobium+angustifolium

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Stachys officinalis

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Botanical; Name :Stachys officinalis
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species: S. officinalis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonyms.: Betonica officinalis

Common Names:betony, purple betony, wood betony, bishopwort, or bishop’s wort.  (The name betony is alleged to derive from the ancient Celtic words bew (head) and ton (good), an indication of its use for headaches. The word stachys comes from the Greek, meaning “an ear of grain,” and refers to the fact that the inflorescence is often a spike.)

Habitat :In Europe, Stachys can be found growing in wastelands, grasslands and woodland edges. All-heal thrives in any damp soil in full sun or in light shade. Plants are apt to become troublesome weeds in turf that is at all damp.
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Stachys officinalis is a pretty woodland plant, met with frequently throughout England, but rare in Ireland and northern Scotland. Though generally growing in woods and copses, it is occasionally to be found in more open situations, and amongst the tangled growths on heaths and moors.

Description:
Stachys officinalis is a perennial grassland herb growing to 30 to 60  cm (1 to 2 ft) tall. Its leaves are stalked on upright stems, narrowly oval, with a heart-shaped base, with a somewhat wrinkled texture and toothed margins. The calyx is 5–7 mm long, with 5 teeth, edged with bristles. The corolla 1–1.5 cm long. Its upper lip flat, almost straight when seen from the side. The anthers stick straight out. It flowers in mid summer from July to September, and is found in dry grassland, meadows and open woods in most of Europe, western Asia and North Africa.

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It comes up year after year from a thickish, woody root. The stems rise to a height of from 1 to 2 feet, and are slender, square and furrowed. They bear at wide intervals a few pairs of oblong, stalkless leaves, 2 to 3 inches long, and about 3/4 to 1 inch broad, with roughly indented margins in other plants of this group, the pairs of leaves arise on alternate sides of the stem. The majority of the leaves, however, spring from the root and these are larger, on long stalks and of a drawn-out, heart shape. All the leaves are rough to the touch and are also fringed with short, fine hairs; their whole surface is dotted with glands containing a bitter, aromatic oil.

At the top of the stem are the two-lipped flowers of a very rich purplish-red, arranged in dense rings or whorls, which together form short spikes. Then there is a break and a piece of bare stem, with two or four oblong, stalkless leaves and then more flowers, the whole forming what is termed an interrupted spike, a characteristic peculiarity by which Wood Betony is known from all other labiate flowers. The cup or calyx of each flower is crowned by five sharp points, each representing a sepal. The corolla is a long tube ending in two lips, the upper lip slightly arched, the lower one flat, of three equal lobes. The four stamens lie in two pairs within the arch of the upper lip, one pair longer than the other, and shed their pollen on to the back of bee visitors who come to drink the honey in the tube, and thus unconsciously effect the fertilization of the next flower they visit, by carrying to it this pollen that has been dusted upon them. After fertilization, four brown, smooth three-cornered nutlets are developed. The flowers are in bloom during July and August.

The common name of this plant is said by Pliny to have been first Vettonica, from the Vettones a people of Spain, but modern authors resolve the word into the primitive or Celtic form of bew (a head) and ton (good), it being good for complaints in the head. It has sometimes, also, been called Bishopswort, the reason for which is not evident. The name of the genus, Stachys, is a Greek word, signifying a spike, from the mode of flowering.

Cultivation:
Prefers a light moist neutral to acid soil in sun or light shade[7, 17, 238]. A characteristic plant of healthy roadside banks on heavy soils[187]. Hardy to at least -25°c[187]. At one time bugle was often cultivated for its medicinal virtues, though it is now little used[4]. There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value[188]. An excellent bee plant.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Very easy, the plant can be successfully divided at almost any time of the year. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Sow seed in very early spring in a flat outdoors, or give a short cold and moist conditioning treatment before sowing in a warm place. Growing from 1 to 2 feet high, with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at leaf axis. The leaves are lance shaped, serrated and reddish at tip, about an inch long and 1/2 inch broad, grow on short stalks in opposite pairs down the square stem. The flowers grow from a clublike, somewhat square, whirled cluster, immediately below this club are 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. Mostly from June to August. Gather whole plant when flowers bloom, dry for later herb use.

Edible Uses:The leaves and flowering tops make a good tea substitute. Refreshing and aromatic, it has all the good qualities of tea without the negative ones

Constituents:
The aerial parts contain phenylethanoid glycosides, (betonyosides A-F) and acetoside, acetoside isomer, campneosides II, forsythoside B and leucosceptoside B. The roots contain diterpene glycosides, betonicosides A-D and the diterpene, betonicolide.

Medicinal Uses:
The whole plant is medicinal as an alterative, antibacterial, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, hypotensive, stomachic, styptic, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary. A cold water infusion of the freshly chopped or dried and powdered leaves makes a refreshing beverage, while a weak infusion of the plant can be used as a medicinal eye wash for sties and pinkeye. It is taken internally as a medicinal tea in the treatment of fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart.

Betony was once the sovereign remedy for all maladies of the head, and its properties as a nervine and tonic are still acknowledged, though it is more frequently employed in combination with other nervines than alone. It is useful in hysteria, palpitations pain in the head and face, neuralgia and all nervous affections. In the Medicina Britannica (1666) we read: ‘I have known the most obstinate headaches cured by daily breakfasting for a month or six weeks on a decoction of Betony made with new milk and strained.’

As an aromatic, it has also astringent and alterative action, and combined with other remedies is used as a tonic in dyspepsia and as an alterative in rheumatism, scrofula and impurities of the blood.

The weak infusion forms a very acceptable substitute for tea, and in this way is extensively used in many localities. It has somewhat the taste of tea and all the good qualities of it, without the bad ones. To make Betony tea, pour a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the dried herb. A wineglassful of this decoction three times a dayproves a benefit against languid nervous headaches.

The dried herb may also be smoked as tobacco, combined with Eyebright and Coltsfoot, for relieving headache.

A pinch of the powdered herb will provoke violent sneezing. The dried leaves formed an ingredient in Rowley’s British Herb Snuff, which was at one time quite famous for headaches.

Gerard tells us, among other uses, that Betony, ‘preserveth the lives and bodies of men from the danger of epidemical diseases. It helpeth those that loathe and cannot digest their food. It is used either dry or green either the root or herb – or the flowers, drunk in broth or meat or made into conserve syrup, water, electuary or powder – as everyone may best frame themselves, or as time or season requires.’ He proceeds to say that the herb cures the jaundice, falling sickness, palsy, convulsions, gout, dropsy and head troubles, and that ‘the powder mixed with honey is no less available for all sorts of colds or cough, wheezing, of shortness of breath and consumption,’ also that ‘the decoction made with mead and Pennyroyal is good for putrid agues,’ and made in wine is good as a vermifuge, ‘and also removes obstructions of the spleen and liver.’ Again, ‘the decoction with wine gargled in the mouth easeth the toothache…. It is a cure for the bites of mad dogs…. A dram of the powder taken with a little honey in some vinegar is good for refreshing those that are wearied by travel. It stayeth bleeding at the nose and mouth, and helpeth those that spit blood, and is good for those that have a rupture and are bruised. The green herb bruised, or the juice, applied to any inward hurt, or outward wound in body or head will quickly heal and close it up. It will draw forth any broken bone or splinter, thorn or other thing gotten into the flesh, also healeth old sores or ulcers and boils. The root is displeasing both to taste and stomach, whereas the leaves and flowers by their sweet and spicy taste, comfort both in meat and medicine.

Other Uses:
The fresh leaves are said to have an intoxicating effect. They have been used to dye wool a fine yellow.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_officinalis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/betowo35.html
http://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Stachys+officinalis
http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail252.php

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Herbs & Plants

Stachys byzantina

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Botanical Name : Stachys byzantina
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species: S. byzantina
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonym : Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica.

Common Name :Lamb’s Ear

Habitat :Stachys byzantina is  native to Turkey, Armenia, and Iran. It is cultivated over much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escape from gardens.

Description:
Stachys byzantina is a perennial herbs usually densely covered with gray or silver-white, silky-lanate hairs. They are named lambs ears because of the curved shape and white, soft, fur like hair coating. Flowering stems are erect, often branched, and tend to be 4-angled, growing 40–80 cm tall. The leaves are thick and somewhat wrinkled, densely covered on both sides with gray-silver colored, silky-lanate hairs, the under sides more silver-white in color than the top surfaces. The leaves arranged oppositely on the stems and 5 to 10 cm long. Leaf petioles semiamplexicaul (the bases wrapping half way around the stem) with the basal leafs having blades oblong-elliptic in shape, measuring 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide (though variation exists in cultivated forms), The leaf margins are crenulate but covered with dense hairs, the leaf apexes attenuate, gradually narrowing to a rounded point. The flowering spikes are 10–22 cm long, producing verticillasters that each have many flowers and are crowded together over most of the length on the spike-like stem. The leaves produced on the flowering stems are greatly reduced in size and subsessile, the lower ones slightly longer than the interscholastic and the upper ones shorter than the verticillasters. Leaf bracteoles linear to linear-lanceolate in shape and 6 mm long. The flowers have no pedicels (sessile) and the calyx is tubular-campanulate in shape, being slightly curved and 1.2 cm long. The calyx is glabrous except for the inside surface of the teeth, having 10-veins with the accessory veins inconspicuous. The 2–3 mm long calyx teeth are ovate-triangular in shape and are subequal or the posterior teeth larger, with rigid apices. Corollas with some darker purple tinted veins inside, 1.2 cm long with silky-lanate hairs but bases glabrous. The corolla tubes are about 6 mm long with the upper lip ovate in shape with entire margins; the lower lips are subpatent with the middle lobe broadly ovate in shape, lateral lobes oblong. The stamen filaments are densely villous from the base to the middle. Styles much exserted past the corolla. Immature nutlets without hairs, brown in color and oblong in shape.

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Lamb’s Ear flowers in late spring and early summer, plants produce tall spike-like stems with a few reduced leaves. The flowers are small and either white or pink. The plants tend to be evergreen but can “die” back during cold winters and regenerate new growth from the crowns. In warmer climates they may grow year-round, but suffer where it’s hot and humid. They are easy to grow, preferring partial shade to full sunlight and well-drained soils not rich in nitrogen.

Cultivated over much of the temperate parts of the world and naturalized in some locations as an escapee from gardens.

Lamb’s Ear is a commonly grown plant for children’s gardens or used as an edging plant, in Brazil is also used as a edible herb, called Lambari, as they are easy to grow and the thick felt like leaves are fun to touch. It has sometimes been used as a medicinal plant. A number of cultivars exist including white flowering forms, plants with shorter habit and plants that do not bloom as much.

*Big Ears‘ – leaves very large, up to 25 cm long.
*Cotton Ball’ – a sterile cultivar that does not produce flowering stems. Asexually propagated.
*Primrose Heron’ – leaves yellow in spring; flowers pink
*Sheila Macqueen’ – sterile; low-growing; leaves large.
*Silky Fleece’ – grows 25 cm tall with lilac-plum flowers, produce smaller white-woolly foliage. Seed propagated.
*Silver Carpet’ – sterile; leaves grey. Asexually propagated.
*Striped Phantom’ – leaves variegated.

Medicinal Uses:
Stachys byzantina makes a natural bandage and dressing to staunch bleeding.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_LMN.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_byzantina
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/groundcover/stachys_byzantina.html

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Hedge Woundwort

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Botanical Name : Stachys sylvatica
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species: S. sylvatica
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Common Names :Hedge Woundwort, Hedge nettle

Habitat :Hedge Woundwort is native to Europe, including Britain, south and east from Norway to Portugal, the Caucasus and the Himalayas. Grows in  Woodland, hedgebanks and shady waste places, usually on rich soils

Description:
Hedge Woundwort is a perennial grassland herb growing to 80 cm tall. In temperate zones of the northern hemisphere it blossoms in July and August.Flowers in whorls of about 6 at the base of leaf-like bracts, or the lowest one or two whorls at the base of leaves proper.(Flower c 12-16 mm long.  Leaf-blades c 4-9 cm long.)  No gradual change from leaves to bracts as you go up stem, but a clear discontinuity.  Fruit has 4 nutlets as in all Labiatae  The flowers are purple. The leaves, when crushed or bruised, give off an unpleasant smell.
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Flower claret-coloured with whitish markings, upper lip hood-shaped and lower lip divided into 3 obvious lobes, the middle one much the largest.  Middle lobe not notched.  Calyx with 5 near-equal teeth.  Leaves from midway up stem have blades less than twice as long as wide, the leaf stalk more than a third as long as the blade.

It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Cultivation :
Grows well along woodland edges. The whole plant gives off a most unpleasant smell when bruised. A good bee plant.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Medicinal Uses:

Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Styptic; Tonic.

The whole herb is styptic. It is applied externally to wounds etc. The plant is also said to be diuretic, emmenagogue and tonic.
The whole herb is styptic. It is applied externally to wounds etc. From Culpeper: this herb ‘stamped with vinegar and applied in manner of a pultis, taketh away wens and hard swellings, and inflammation of the kernels under the eares and jawes,’ and also that the distilled water of the flowers ‘is used to make the heart merry, to make a good colour in the face, and to make the vitall spirits more fresh and lively.’

Other Uses:
Dye; Fibre.

A tough fibre is obtained from the stem. It has commercial possibilities. A yellow dye is obtained from the plant.

Scented Plants
Plant: Crushed
The whole plant gives off a most unpleasant smell when bruised.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Stachys+sylvatica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_sylvatica
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_FGH.htm
http://www.plant-identification.co.uk/skye/labiatae/stachys-sylvatica.htm

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Stachys palustris

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Botanical Name :Stachys palustris
Family : Lamiaceae – Mint family
Genus: Stachys L. – hedgenettle
Species : Stachys palustris L. – marsh hedgenettle
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division : Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Asteridae
Order: Lamiales

Synonyms:
Stachys palustris L.

STPAE Stachys palustris L. var. elliptica Clos
STPAP7 Stachys palustris L. var. petiolata Clos
STPAS Stachys palustris L. var. segetum (Mutel) Grogn.

Common Name :Hedge Nettle or Hairy Hedge Nettle

Habitat :Stachys palustris  occurs primarily in central and northern Illinois, where it is occasional to locally common. In southern Illinois, it is absent or uncommon. Habitats include moist black soil prairies, edges of marshes, moist meadows in woodland areas, low-lying areas along roadsides and railroads, and the edges of fields. This plant can be found in either disturbed or high quality habitats.

Description:
Stachys palustris is  perennial plant , grows  about 2-3′ tall and little branched. The four-angled central stem is covered with fine hairs. The opposite leaves are up to 4″ long and 1¾” across. They are finely serrate along the margins and sessile against the stem (or nearly so). Their upper surface is dark green and covered with fine short hairs, while the lower surface is light green with hairs along the major veins. The foliage has a slightly rank smell. The central stem terminates in a spike of flowers about 4-8″ long when fully mature. This spike consists of about 6-10 whorls of flowers, each whorl having 4-8 flowers. A typical flower is about ½” long and tubular, with a hairy upper lip and a lower lip that is divided into 3 lobes (a large central lobe and smaller side lobes). The flowers are usually white with splotches of rosy purple; sometimes they are pink. The hairy calyx is green or purplish green, and divided into long triangular sepals. These sepals are more than half as long as the tube of the corolla (excluding the length of the lips).

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The blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts about 1-2 months. There is a mild floral scent that is sweet and pleasant. The flowers are eventually replaced by capsules containing small nutlets. The root system is rhizomatous and produces tubers that are edible. Hairy Hedge Nettle often forms vegetative colonies of varying size.

Cultivation: The preference is moist conditions and light shade to full sun. A soil that is loamy or sandy is satisfactory as long as it remains moist. Unlike other members of the Mint family, foliar disease doesn’t appear to bother the leaves to any significant degree.

Medicinal Uses:
One of the most effective sweating herbs, useful in the early stages of colds, flu, and fevers.  Internally used for gout, cramps, vertigo and hemorrhage.  It will relieve diarrhea and dysentery. Externally used for minor injuries.  The bruised leaves when applied to a wound will stop bleeding and help heal the wound.  It is an equivalent of comfrey in its effect on wounds.  It may be used directly or as an ointment or compress.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/hairy_hdgnettlex.htm
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=STPA&photoID=stpa_007_avp.tif
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_FGH.htm

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