Marrubium vulgare – Horehound

Marrubium vulgare - Horehound, White Horehound

Marrubium vulgare - Horehound, White Horehound

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Marrubium vulgare

Common Names: Horehound, White Horehound

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This cultivated, medicinal herb is native to Europe, but it has become widely naturalized here.

Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain, Riparian. In the desert, this weed typically grows in foothill canyons and in riparian areas.

Flower Color: White

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall (early)

Height: To 3 feet (91 cm) tall

Description: The small, tubular flowers are borne in whorls at the leaf axils. The leaves are 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) long, opposite, petiolate, deeply wrinkled, green above, whitish below, and oval in shape. The stems are square, greenish white, and covered in woolly hairs.

Special Characteristics

Edible – Although somewhat bitter and possessing a unique, pungent flavor, the fresh or dried leaves are edible and can be used as a seasoning or flavoring, made into pleasant-tasting and medicinal tea (if you like the flavor of Horehound), and used to make Horehound ale. Horehound is also often included in herbal cough drops.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae – Mint family
Genus: Marrubium L. – horehound
Species: Marrubium vulgare L. – horehound

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map