MOTHERWORT 



every human disease and, second, that this plant bears 

 either in leaf or flower or fruit some resemblance 

 which guides man to its selection. Now the flower 

 of the Self-heal consists of a throat and an open 

 mouth, hence, it was supposed to be an infallible 

 remedy for sore throat. The older name of the plant 

 and the significant one is Brunella, but this was altered 

 by Linnaeus into Prunella. No pent-up Utica limited 

 the virtues of this plant in the day of its reputation, 

 for it was regarded as a cure-all, a specific for all the 

 diseases that flesh is heir to. 



This wonderful herb is a Labiate, belongs to that 

 two-lipped, square-stemmed sturdy clan, but it pos- 

 sesses a distinctive personality notwithstanding. The 

 flowers and bracts are arranged in regular tiers about 

 the square flowering head, each tier a ring of blos- 

 soms supported by two spreading green bracts. The 

 number of tiers varies from six to ten. Out from these 

 protecting bracts projects a two-lipped corolla of 

 exquisite beauty marked by varied tints of violet. The 

 plant is a tireless bloomer; and the flowering heads 

 elongate in ripening sometimes to four to five inches, 

 becoming coarse and brown. 



MOTHERWORT 



Leonurus cardiaca 



From the Greek, leon, a. lion, and oura, a tail; from a 

 fancied resemblance of the blooming stem to a lion's 

 taU. 



Perennial. Naturalized from Europe. An outcast from 

 the garden, having lost its medicinal repute; lingers about 

 walls, waste places, and roadsides. Nova Scotia to North 



i8i 



