I was pleasantly surprised to come across this beautiful
flowering motherwort on my walk last night. I had never seen it growing in this
spot before. Motherwort (Leonurus
cardiaca) is a member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family and gets its name from its
history of use for allaying anxiety in new mothers. Its species name, cardiaca,
comes from the Greek word for heart, "kardiaca". This tells us that this herb has
some action on the heart. It acts as a cardiac tonic and helps relieve heart
palpitations, angina, and can help lower blood pressure. The genus name,
Leonurus, comes from the Greek “leon” for lion, and “ouros” for tail, as the
plant was thought to resemble the tail of a lion. Motherwort is often combined
with other herbs and used for anxiety associated with PMS or menopause,
menopausal hot flashes and sweating, and hyperthyroidism. Its taste is quite
bitter, so a tea of motherwort is not very palatable. A tincture of the herb is
an easier way to take motherwort.
The plant grows to approximately 5’ tall by 2’ wide. The flowers appear in pale pink to
purple whorls, alternating up the stem with leaves. The leaves are deeply lobed
into 3.
