Motherwort  Leonorus cardiaca

So, the next time you are on Botanical Jeopardy (yes someday it will be a thing) and you get asked what is the only member of the mint family with palmate leaves? You can reply, what is Motherwort! It has the typical square stem, opposite leaves and dragon mouth flowers of the mints, but the leaves are very distinct. Also watch out for the sharp leaves below the flowers as they are quite poky. 

Seed-Starting: Motherwort seeds definitely do better with cold stratification, so I like to start seeds outside in January or February. Just barely cover the seeds when planting. After they sit outside for a month, bring them in a greenhouse or otherwise well lit warm environment and they generally germinate in 1 to 3 weeks. 

Site: Motherwort is a pretty adaptable plant. I have a few growing in  shade and some in full on sun. I give them a little extra water when we enter the drought season but other than that very easy. These plants are short lived perennials so if you find that they all die after 3 or 4 seasons, it wasn’t you, that’s just their cycle. Plants will gerneally come up looking quite sad for a season before they call it.

Harvest: It is the aerial parts that we work with, so harvest the top 1/3 of the stem right as they come into flower. We want to use sharp pruners and cut the stem right above a node and being sure to leave 4 or 5 sets of leaves for the plant to continue to do its work. It is not uncommon for the plant to produce smaller stems, then flower again in a few weeks. And since it is a short-lived perennial and because bees are struggling, leave a few flowering stems for our friends to pollinate and a fall source of seed.

Medicine: With a species name like cardiaca you have a good indication that it has a history with the heart. While this is true, it is important to note it’s used in conditions of excited states, where there is a rapid pulse. For similar reasons it is also used in anxious states. It slows things down. More so it is used in states of Hyperthyroidism. The thyroid is like the thermostat of the body. And when things are moving to quick, or the thermostat is set too high, like having a rapid pulse and fast transit of food through the bowels than Motherwort may be useful. That said the plant is contraindicated for folks with hypothyroid.