The horehound plant attracts bees to your garden. The menthol-flavored leaves are said to soothe coughs when taken as a syrup or decoction. It flourishes in waste places and by roadsides. Like full and partial sun. Zones 6 – 9. Average, well drained garden soil. Divide mature plants in spring. Plant in well drained location, since horehound will die in winter in wet soil. Perennial. Branching, square stems with round, woolly leaves. The leaf surfaces of horehound are dotted with small glands that contain aromatic oil. The leaves also contains lignin, tannin and resins.

Flowers from June to September, first blooms are fairly insignificant white flowers arranged in rings around the upper part of the stems, small white tubular blooms in dense whorls are produced in the upper leaf axils in the second year. The flowers die off, leaving a spiny burr containing four small brown or black seeds. The first year cut foliage sparingly. The second year, harvest leaves when flower buds appear, chop and dry them, then store in airtight containers. Horehound extract can be distilled from the dried leaves and flowers of the plant and used as a tea for soothing sore throats, colds and coughs. It is brewed and made into horehound ale. Candied horehound is best made from the fresh plant by boiling it down until the juice is extracted, then adding sugar before boiling this again, until it has become thick enough to pour into a paper case and can be cut into squares when cool.

Grown in pastures with livestock, horehound can cause problems, as it is very bitter. Grazing animals tend to concentrate on other plants in the paddock, which cuts down the competition with horehound and leaves it to spread. If animals are forced to eat it, their meat and milk have a strong offensive smell and flavor. The most significant negative effect of the weed is that the burrs attach themselves easily to wool and are difficult to remove, so the price of wool with is downgraded. Because the plant is drought-tolerant, it can use occasional drought to suddenly increase its range. Other names are: White horehound, hoarhound, bull’s blood, horus, marvel, white hoarhound.