Motherwort
Leonurus cardiacea
Family: Lamiaceae
What it is like
A small herb. It keeps growing from year to year and has a strong smell. It grows 1.2 m high and spreads 60 cm wide. The stems are purple. The leaves are lobed like fingers on a hand. They are 7 cm long. The flowers are mauve to white and downy. They have purple spotted lips. The flowers are produced in rings in the axils of leaves.
There are 4 Leonurus species.
Where it is found
It is a temperate plant. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 500 m above sea level.
Countries/locations it is found in
Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Balkans, Canada, Caucasus, Europe, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mediterranean, North America, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South America, Uzbekistan
How it is used for food
The flowering tops are used as flavouring for beer, ales and stouts. Fresh and dried flowers can be added to soups. They can be brewed as a tea
Edible parts
Flowers - tea, flowers - flavour, leaves- tea
How it is grown
Plants can be grown by division.
Its other names
Local names
Aryutsagi, Lion's tail, Sirdininkai