XCommon Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)X
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White Horehound -or- Common Horehound (Marrubium vulgare), family Lamiaceae (Mint)
The foliage of this perennial herb so much resembles a mint plant. we thought that is what it was. Although in the mint family, these plants are classed in their own genus - a really big one - three species! The plant is not a native to North America, coming from Europe, North Africa, and Asia. This plant is famous for it's use in cough drops and hard candies. They are delicious by the way! The plants are functional in another way as well. They are a natural grasshopper repellent in farming. There is some degree of invasive weed status assigned to common horehound. One of the interesting physical charactaristics of horehound is that it has a square stem.
Folklore: This fun lore about horehound comes from the author Richard Folkard, Plant lore, legends, and lyrics ' HOREHOUND.- Horehound (Marrubiutn) is the Herb which the Egyptians dedicated to their god Horus, and which the priests called the Seed of Horus, or the Bull's Blood, and the Eye of the Star. Strabo attributed to the plant magical properties as a counter-poison. Horehound is one of the five plants which are stated by the Mishna to be the "bitter herbs" ordered to be taken by the Jews at the Feast of the Passover. An infusion of its leaves has an ancient reputation as being valuable in consumptive cases, coughs, and colds, and, according to Gerarde, " is good for them that have drunke poyson, or that have been bitten of serpents." It is a herb of Mercury, hot in the second degree and dry in the third. - To dream of Horehound indicates that you will suffer imprisonment.'. End quote. We can't say we have ever dreamed of horehound, now there is an exciting dream, but now we will certainly avoid it!
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Plant location: Seen in the Rocky Mountain foothills in Colorado state at Hwy 72 and Plainview Road on June 5, 2008. The habitat of horehound is the Plains. Pastures, fields, and roadsides are common places to find it. The distribution of white horehound is HUGE, covering most of the United States including Alaska, and generous areas of Canada as well.Plant -
Bloom season: June to September.Foliage -
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