Woundwort Betonica officinalis

Purple betony is an herbaceous perennial in the Lamiaceae (mint) family.  It's an old and respected medicinal plant that was in use in ancient Egypt.  Its native habitat includes meadows, gardens, parks,  pastures, hedge banks and open forest woodlands.

It has large, heart shaped leaves on long stems that arise from the root.  These are the majority of the leaves.  Smaller leaves grow from the slender, squared stems.  These alternate leaves are stalkless and appear in pairs at wide intervals along the stem.  Both types of foliage have a rough texture, a fringe of short hairs.  The surface has glands that emit a bitter oil that is quite aromatic.  

The flowers are two lipped and arranged in a whorl.  Above the whorl is bare stem, followed by the stalkless leaves described above, then additional flowers.  This pattern repeats, resulting in a spike of alternating flowers and leaves.  

The flowers are 2-lipped and have 3 lobes, with the central lobe the largest.  There are also 2 short stamens and 2 long stamens.  

The cultivar 'Hummelo' has tiny, rose-lavendar, two-lipped flowers.  They form as spikes at the top of leafless stems.  They sit well above the foliage.  

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  No serious issues, however, snails and slugs may damage the plant.