horehound

a.k.a. white horehound
latin name: marrubium vulgare

zone:  4-8
type: perennial
light: full sun
height: 8-24” (20-60 cm)

description:   Aromatic, woody perennial with downy stems and ovate, downy, gray-green leaves.  The thick silvery hairs that grow on the young stem and the underside of the young leaves creates the impression that a silvery spider’s web has spun them together.  Small off-white flowers appear in summer.   Well worth growing as an unusual ornamental plant.

harvest:  Gather the leaves and flowering tops in late spring, just before the plant flowers, when the plant oils are at their richest.

uses:  Medicinal benefits.  Extracts of white horehound are used in traditional ale making and is brewed to make Horehound Ale in Britain.  It is also used in flavoring liqueurs.   An infusion of the leaf can be used as an organic spray to deter cankerworm in fruit trees.