One of my new goals for the year is to study one herb for the year. This does not mean I’ll be forsaking all others, I’ll still study and continue learning but this one herb will be my ally for the year. I spent a month thinking about which herb I would like to ally with this year and finally chose Prunella, or rather, she chose me!

Prunella, also known as Selfheal or Heal All, has been growing wild on our property since we’ve moved here. It was one of the first “new” wild herbs I discovered on our property. However, she’s always hovered in the lower back part of our land.

Last year, I dug up a few small plants and put them in the garden. I am sad to report they got tilled under due to my thoughtlessness. I do hope she forgives me for that! The answer came a few weeks later to that thought when I discovered she had planted herself right next to my back door in the hollyhock bed!

I believe she’s got something to tell me and I am going to listen.

I started a notebook to chronicle my journey with her. I have tincture made up so I’ll be digging that out and starting to use it whenever I can. Also, I’ll be making some oil and salve as soon as the time is right. I’ll be using her leaves in my morning teas and sketching her cycles of growth.

I started out researching her family (mint of course, also known as lamiaceae). Leaves are in pairs on the stems, each pair at right angles to the ones above/below. Flowers are typically fused, stems square. Yep! That’s just like Prunella!

I never referred to her by Prunella before, always Selfheal or Heal All but that always annoyed me because I could never settle on one of the two names. Well, which is it?! But last night, when I sat down to journal about her, it just felt right to call her by her proper name, Prunella. So lovely!

I am looking forward to hearing what this beautiful lady has to tell me.