夏至草 xia zhi cao

Leonurus supinus Stephan ex Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 3: 116. 1800; Marrubium incisum Bentham.

Stems purplish, few, 15-35 cm tall, densely puberulent. Petiole 2-3 cm basally, ca. 1 cm upward; leaf blade circular, 1.5-2 × 1.5-2 cm, adaxially sparsely puberulent, abaxially glandular, villous on veins, 3-lobed or 3-partite, lobes entire to oblong-dentate, basal lobes much larger, ciliate, base cordate. Verticillasters widely spaced, few flowered, ca. 1 cm in diam., lax basally, compact upward; bracteoles ca. 4 mm, curved, spinelike, densely puberulent. Calyx tubular-campanulate, ca. 4 mm, densely puberulent; teeth triangular, unequal, 1-1.5 mm, margin finely ciliate, apically spiny, distinctly spreading, 2 teeth slightly larger in fruit. Corolla white, rarely rose, slightly exserted, ca. 7 mm, lanate-villous; tube ca. 5 × 1.5 mm; upper lip straight, longer than lower lip, oblong, margin entire; lower lip obliquely spreading, middle lobe oblate, lateral lobes elliptic. Nutlets brown, oblong-ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm, scaly. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Jun.

A weed in open waste areas; 0-2600 m. Anhui, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Mongolia, Russia]

Used medicinally.