Prunella vulgaris (Self-heal)

Prunella vulgaris (Self-heal)
Prunella vulgaris (Self-heal)
  • Plant Details

    Aspect: Full Sun; Light/Partial Shade

    Soil Type: Most Types

    Colour: Purple

Prunella vulgaris (Self-heal)

A British native perennial herb generally found growing in roadsides, woodland edges, meadows and gardens across the UK. The plant spreads well and is very tough. A fantastic plant for many types of insect and pollinators. 

The young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant as a whole can be boiled and eaten as a leaf vegetable and parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage. Traditional medicinal uses feature in several parts of the world, including by the Chinese and the North American indigenous people.

Height and spread: 30cm x 30cm

Common names: Self-heal; Prunel; Heal-all; Woundwort; Heart-of-the-earth; Carpenter's Herb; Brownwort; Blue Curls

Gerard writes in his 16th century Herbal:

The decoction of Prunell made with wine and water, doth joine together and make whole and sound all wounds both inward and ourward, even as Bugle doth. Prunel bruised with oile of roses and vineger, and laid to the fore-part of the head, swageth and helpeth the pain and aking thereof. To be short, it serveth for the same that Bugle doth, and in the world there are not two better wound herbs, as hath bin often proved.


In Hampshire, children would be warned not to pick the flowers of this plant because they belonged to the devil and he would carry the children away at night if they disobeyed.

 

Photo: Georg Buzin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

£0.00
£4.90
Earn0
reward points

In stock: 9

Sorry! We're out of stock

Add To Your Wishlist

Sorry, this plant is out of stock. We can send you an email when it's available again:

You may also be interested in...

Caught Our Eye This Week - Each week we feature a number of plants that have caught our eye. They feature in this category for no other reason than we notice them around the nursery and think they deserve to be planted more widely as they are so special or interesting. Click here for the full list of featured plants.
All our plants are supplied in 9cm pots unless otherwise specified. Plants in this size pot establish quickly in the garden and often outpace plants in bigger pots planted at the same time. Our potted plants can be planted immediately, unless otherwise noted, or you can leave them in their pots until you are ready to plant.
The majority of our plants are grown outdoors. This means that they follow their natural growth patterns and are ready to plant at any time of the year. If you order the plants in winter, they are likely to be dormant and died back to ground level, ready to shoot again in spring - just like the herbaceous perennials in your own garden. Very occasionally, in winter and early spring, we may indicate on the packing slip that a plant needs to be hardened off before planting out. This will be because it has just come out of a polytunnel. If you have any questions about our plants or growing methods, please feel free to drop us an email.
We grow most of what we sell ourselves, in our nursery in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Our prices include VAT at 20%.
Please note: We do our best to provide acurate photographs of the plants we sell, but colours display differently on different screens and printers and in different light and we cannot guarantee that what you are seeing on your screen, or on the plant label provided, will exactly match the plant when it flowers in your garden. Plant dimensions are given as a guide only and the actual sizes reached may vary from garden to garden, depending on local conditions.