Prunella vulgaris
Poisonous plant
Common name
self-heal
Family
Lamiaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PRUVUL
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Because of its low growth habit, self-heal all can often escape detection until firmly established in the lawn. The first signs of of the plant are during flowering when hundreds of purple (occasionally mauve) flowers on short compact spikes are seen above the ground.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland).
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Features
Self-heal is a low-growing, spreading by rooting at nodes; a perennial of the mint family. It has distinctive puckered leaves with an opposite arrangement on square stems. The ovate leaves (wider at the base and tapering toward the apex) are covered with short, coarse hairs. When viewing this plant from directly above, each set of leaves is rotated ninety degrees from the previous set.
Flowering
Self heal flowers in early-to-mid summer on stems that extend above the ground
Flower colours
Violet/Purple
Year naturalised
1867
Origin
N. temperate
Reason For Introduction
The common name derives from the use of some species to treat a range of minor disorders. It is reported to have an antiseptic and antibacterial effect, and to be particularly good in cases of food poisoning.