Species

Prunella vulgaris

Common Name(s)

self-heal

Authority

Prunella vulgaris L.

Family

Lamiaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

PRUVUL

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.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

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.

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.

This page last updated on 20 Jun 2018