Selfheal or Heal-all, Prunella vulgaris
Beside your path,
beneath your boot,
the small flowers barely seen,
upon each spike, in turn, to bloom,
‘round each whorl, exactly six,
tucked below each purple bonnet--
ivory cheeks, and trembling lip.
Who thinks the mighty must be tall,
when one so small is heal-all.
Heal-all, or Selfheal, Prunella vulgaris is found on almost every continent and has been used in herbal medicine for almost every ailment known to man. It is presently showing promise in research for herpes, diabetes, cancer and AIDS.
Read more about Heal-all here.
"Have you seen...." is an effort to discover the unusual beauty in things not usually appreciated for their beauty.
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3 comments:
This has always been a fave of mine, both to have in my lawn, and for its two pretty names.
Always love your "Have you seen..." posts, Nina. We have this stuff all over the place. Looks like it makes a refreshing cool beverage. I'll have to give it a try!
I have never seen as many healalls as I have this year. Perhaps the extremely wetl weather in the northeast has made the flourish-errant seeds germinating where they otherwise might not.
Nice post of a small beautiful flower that often gets overlooked.
Thanks
bill;www.wildramblings.com
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