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Self-Heal. Heal-All

Brunella vulgaris. Mint Family.

Stems.--Low. Leaves.--Opposite; oblong. Flowers.--Bluish-purple; in a spike or head. Calyx.-Two-lipped; upper lip with three short teeth, the lower two cleft. Corolla.--Two-lipped; the upper lip arched, entire, the lower spreading, three-cleft. Stamens.--Four. Pistil.--One, two-lobed at the apex. Throughout the length and breadth of the country, from June until September, the short, close spikes of the self-heal can be found along the roadsides. The botanical name, Brunella, is a corruption from Prunella, which is taken from the German for quinsy, for which this plant was considered a certain cure. It was also used in England as an application to the wounds received by rustic laborers, as its common names, carpenter's herb, hook-heal, and sicklewort, imply. That the French had a similar practice is proved by an old proverb of theirs to the effect that "No one wants a surgeon who keeps Prunelle."