Complete Picture Guide to Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) Varieties: Is It Toxic?

Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) is a perennial herb in the genus Prunella of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Most plants in this genus are used medicinally, and some can serve as landscape plants. China has 4 species and 3 varieties, one of which is introduced and cultivated. Here we present the Complete Picture Guide to Selfheal Varieties.

1. Complete Picture Guide to Selfheal Varieties

Selfheal varieties include Prunella vulgaris, Prunella asiatica, Prunella grandiflora, Prunella hispida, Prunella vulgaris (nominate variety), Prunella asiatica (nominate variety), white-flowered (variety), and narrow-leaved (variety).

1. Prunella vulgaris

Prunella vulgaris has creeping rhizomes that produce fibrous roots at the nodes. The stems are 20-30 cm tall, sparsely covered with rough hairs or nearly hairless. The leaves are ovate-oblong or ovate, with wavy teeth or nearly entire margins, olive-green above with short stiff hairs or nearly hairless, and pale green below, nearly hairless. The flowering period is April to June; the calyx is bell-shaped, and the corolla is purple, blue-purple, or red-purple. The fruiting period is July to October; the nutlets are yellow-brown, oblong-ovoid. Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan and other provinces are the main producing areas. It grows in wet places in ravines, moist grasslands along riverbanks, wastelands, and roadsides. Its dried fruit spikes can be used medicinally, with effects of clearing heat and purging fire, improving eyesight, and dispersing nodules and reducing swelling. It is a “miracle herb” for clearing and protecting the liver.

2. Prunella asiatica

Prunella asiatica has creeping stems that produce dense fibrous roots at the nodes. The stems are 20-60 cm tall, with sparse soft hairs. The leaves are ovate or ovate-oblong, with sparsely wavy teeth or crenate-serrate margins, green above with appressed slightly sparse soft hairs or nearly hairless, and pale green below, with slightly sparse soft hairs on the veins. The flowering period is May to July; the calyx tip is red or purple, and the corolla is pale purple or deep purple. The fruiting period is August to September; the nutlets are ovoid, brown, and hairless. It is produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and other provinces. It grows on roadsides, hillside grasslands, thickets, and moist ground, at elevations up to 1700 m. The whole plant is used medicinally; in Jiangsu it is used among the people as a diuretic, to lower blood pressure, and to treat gonorrhea and scrofula, and it can also be taken as a tea.

3. Prunella grandiflora

Prunella grandiflora has rhizomes creeping underground with fibrous roots at the nodes. The stems are 15-60 cm tall, with soft-haired stiff hairs. The leaves are ovate-oblong, entire, with sparse stiff hairs on both surfaces. The flowering period is September; the corolla limb is two-lipped, the upper lip oblong, the lower lip oblong, both lips deep violet, with white-flowered, red-flowered, carmine, rose-red, and fern-leaved cultivars. The fruiting period is after September; the nutlets are nearly round with slight tuberculate protrusions. It is native to Europe and was once introduced and cultivated in Nanjing, China, as an ornamental plant, used in rock gardens and lightly shaded flower borders.

4. Prunella hispida

Prunella hispida has underground creeping rhizomes densely covered with fibrous roots. The stems are erect and ascending, 15-30 cm tall, densely covered with flattened jointed stiff hairs. The leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, with shallowly wavy to crenate-serrate margins, and both surfaces densely covered with jointed stiff hairs. The flowering and fruiting period is from June to January of the following year; the bracts are nearly heart-shaped, the calyx is purple and tubular-bell-shaped, the corolla is deep purple to blue-purple, and the nutlets are ovoid, brown, and hairless. It is produced throughout Yunnan except the southern and southwestern parts, growing on roadsides, forest edges, and hillside grasslands at 1500-3800 m. It also occurs in southwestern Sichuan and the Himalayan region.

5. Narrow-leaved Selfheal

Narrow-leaved Selfheal has creeping rhizomes that produce fibrous roots at the nodes. The stems are 20-30 cm tall, sparsely covered with rough hairs or nearly hairless. The leaves are ovate-oblong or ovate, with indistinct wavy shallow teeth or nearly entire margins, with short stiff hairs above or nearly hairless, and nearly hairless on the underside. The flowering period is April to June; the bracts are broadly heart-shaped, the calyx is bell-shaped, and the corolla is purple, blue-purple, or red-purple. The fruiting period is July to October; the nutlets are yellow-brown, oblong-ovoid. It is produced in Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces and regions. It grows on barren slopes, grasslands, stream banks, roadsides, and other moist ground, at elevations up to 3000 m. Its flowering and fruiting spikes can be used medicinally, with effects of clearing the liver and improving eyesight, and dispersing nodules.

6. White-flowered Selfheal

White-flowered Selfheal has stems 5-40 cm tall, erect or inclined, mostly branching from the base and growing obliquely upward, pale purple or green, with retrorse short hairs. The leaves are ovate or ovate-lanceolate, with crenate margins. The flowering period is June to July; the bracts are elliptic-lanceolate, the calyx is tubular, and the corolla is nearly funnel-shaped, pale yellow or white. The fruiting period is August to October; the nutlets are black, three-angled, and slightly flattened. It is distributed in Qinghai, Gansu, Tibet and other places, growing by field edges and roadsides, on slopes, grasslands, or under cypress forests. The whole plant can be used medicinally, with effects of clearing liver fire and dispersing stagnation, treating high blood pressure, lymphadenitis, and lung-heat cough, and treating chronic bronchitis.

2. Is Selfheal Toxic?

Selfheal itself is non-toxic.

1. Selfheal itself is not toxic, but for medicinal herbs there is no absolute statement. Even a toxic herb, as long as it is used for the right condition and taken correctly, is a good medicine that can treat disease. An herb that is itself non-toxic may produce toxic side effects if used improperly.

2. The medicinal dosage of Selfheal is generally 9-15 grams. An excessive dosage may irritate the stomach and intestines, causing symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. It also should not be taken every day, to avoid increasing the burden on the liver and kidneys, which is not conducive to liver and kidney health. It is recommended to take it 2-3 times a week.

3. Selfheal is pungent and bitter in taste and cold in nature. It contains a saponin-like substance that can irritate the stomach and intestines to a certain extent. Therefore, people with weak and cold spleen and stomach should use it with caution, otherwise it may worsen symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and loose stools.

The above is the Complete Picture Guide to Selfheal Varieties and the answer to whether it is toxic. We hope it is useful to everyone.