Marrubium vulgare (white horehound or common horehound) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern and central Asia. It is also widely naturalized in many places, including most of North and South America.

Where can I find horehound plants?

It is a wild herb commonly found in disturbed soils, roadsides, and dry scrublands. The slightly serrated leaves are arranged alternately on the stem and small clustered white, purple, or pink flowers form at the axils in summer.

Where is horehound native to?

horehound, (Marrubium vulgare), also spelled hoarhound, also called white horehound, bitter perennial herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia.

Are Horehounds poisonous?

White horehound is LIKELY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth in food amounts. It's POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth as a medicine. However, taking white horehound by mouth in very large amounts is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. Large amounts can cause vomiting.

What is the herb horehound good for?

White horehound is used for digestion problems including loss of appetite, indigestion, bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and liver and gallbladder complaints. It is also used for lung and breathing problems including cough, whooping cough, asthma, tuberculosis, bronchitis, and swollen breathing passages.

Horehound medicinal herb

How do you harvest Horehounds?

Cut the stem just below a node, remove several of the lower leaves, dip in rooting hormone, and set the cuttings in warm, moist rooting medium. Once rooted, plants should be set about 1 foot apart. Horehound can also be propagated by root division of more mature plants.

Can you drink horehound tea?

Horehound tea is generally safe for consumption though some individuals may experience mild side effects. Avoid the tea if you are allergic to either the white horehound or black horehound plant.

Does horehound grow in the UK?

This hardy perennial can grow to 60cm, producing wrinkled green leaves adorned with small hairs, this is a bushy plant and it will produce rings of small white flowers from June to September in the second year of growth. It is native to the UK and as such is bee and butterfly friendly.

Do they still make horehound candy?

Today, Horehound is still used in cough drops and candies as a soothing sweet! The plant itself is rather unique. A member of the mint family, the leaves have a distinct furry texture and meatiness to them that makes horehound a very hearty herb.

What animal eats horehound?

Goats-sheep-horses-cows will all eat horehound in that order, but only after most every other green living thing has been eaten, then there'll be another pioneer plant to replace the horehound.

Is horehound candy made from white or black horehound?

Making Horehound Candy

Hard candy, cough drops, and herbal tea can all be made from white or common horehound (Marrubium vulgare). To make it at home, a cook will first need to make horehound tea or extract by boiling the leaves and flowers of the plant in water.

What are Horehounds made of?

Horehound candy drops are bittersweet hard candies like cough drops that are made with sugar and an extract of M. vulgare. They are dark-colored, dissolve in the mouth, and have a flavor that has been compared to menthol and root beer.

Is horehound an invasive plant?

Horehound is often included in herbal cough drops. This species generally occurs as a weed in wildland areas of the Southwestern Region rather than as an invasive plant.

Can horehound be grown indoors?

From Seed. Seeds can be started indoors or sown directly into the garden. ... Just put seeds a fourth of an inch deep in the ground in fall and you should see plants pop up the next spring. To start them indoors, or if you're planting in Zone 9, you'll need to do the cold stratification work yourself.

What is horehound candy taste like?

People have used horehound to make herbal teas, iced drinks, and candies for centuries. It is easy to grow in your garden. Horehound candy tastes similar to the way it smells. It has a sweet and sugary taste with hints of licorice.

What does horehound smell like?

Growing Horehound

The fresh leaves smell musky (some say fruit- or thyme-scented), but the odor disappears on drying. Horehound is an important bee herb. Common horehound looks rather plain; it's neither tidy like hyssop nor airy like fennel.

How did horehound candy get its name?

The common name horehound comes from the Old English words har and hune, meaning downy plant. This descriptive name refers to the white hairs that give this herb its distinctive hoary appearance. ... The generic name is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word marrob, meaning bitter juice.

Does horehound cause diarrhea?

The volatile oil is a carminative and expectorant, while the bitter principle results in gastric activity (7.5-52, 11.136). Consumption of large quantities of horehound can induce diarrhea and nausea (11.1-136).

How do you start horehound seeds?

The most common method of raising horehound is sowing seeds directly into the garden area. Seeds can be direct sowed in spring or fall. If direct sowing in the spring, wait until three weeks before the final predicted frost date. Place the seeds a ½ inch deep in the cultivated ground.

Is horehound safe for babies?

Mullein, Thyme, Horehound, and Marshmallow are all wonderful expectorants for kids. If your child also has a sore throat, using Wild Cherry Bark is wonderful as well. Perhaps my three favorite 'multi-purpose' herbs for children are Lemon Balm, Catnip & Chamomile.

How do you make horehound extract?

Place the dried horehound into a (non-plastic) mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over the dried herb, cover and steep for 30 minutes. Strain the infusion into a heavy saucepan, pressing to extract all the liquid you can. Over low heat, add the sugar and cream of tartar and stir continuously until sugar is dissolved.