PRUNELLA vulgaris.
Self-heal.
DIDYNA MIA Gymnojperma.
G en. Char. Filaments forked, one point bearing the
anther a. Stigma cloven.
Spec. Char. All the leaves ovate-oblong, on foot-
ftalks.
Syn. Prunella vulgaris. Linn. Sp. PI. 837. Sm. FI.
Brit. 646. Hudf. 264. With. 541. Hull. 134.
Relh. 236. Sihth. 190. Jbhot. 133. Curt.
Land. faß. 4. t. 42. Mart. Ruß. t. 137.
Prunella. Rail Syn. 238.
r f 'H E common Prunella grows in open airy pallures, flowering
in July and Auguft. The meaning of the Englifii name
Self-heal is not very clear, and f e l f probably is a corruption
of fome word now forgotten; perhapsJlougb, for the healing
powers of the herb are particularly celebrated in fore throats
and ulcers of the mouth and fauces; which Ray tells us are
called Die Breune in German. Hence comes the name Bru-
•nella, foftened by Linnaeus into Prunella, but ftill confefling
its barbarous origin.
Root fibrous, or rather fomewhat creeping, perennial.
Stems from 6 to 10 inches high, branched chiefly below,
fquare, rough with ere£l hairs, leafy. Leaves ovate, or oblong,
bluntifh, entire or flightly waved, hairy. Spikes terminal,
folitary, cylindrical, blunt, denfe, furniflied with a pair of
nearly feflile leaves at their bafe. Each whorl of flowers is
accompanied by a pair of kidney-fhaped waved coloured
braftese. Calyx clofed when in fruit, its upper lip remarkably
abrupt and broad, with 3 fmallteeth; lower cloven. Corolla
of a violet hue, occafionally red or white. The middle
fegment of its lower lip is toothed as in Nepeta, but the
forked ftamina fufficiently diferiminate the genus before us.