A herbaceous plant which can reach 150cm in height (60inches). Stem is four sided, usually hairy though the degree of hairiness varies considerably. Leaves toothed, lanceolate or sometimes nearly ovate; arrangement is opposite. Flowers are irregular in shape, pink or lavender; blooms first appear in early summer and continue into early fall; the oddly shaped upper lip is split with the stamens and style protruding through the opening and arching over the corolla. The flowers are in a terminal spike.

Antiseptic, diaphoretic, diuretic and emmenagogue (tea made from the leaves)

Plants For A Future

The plant is used internally for bronchosis, dysmenorrhea, dysuria, fever, hemorrhoids, oedema and intestinal parastites, and externally to dress cuts and wounds.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 778, CRC Press July 2002.