Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Prunella vulgaris L.

Synonyms

Brunella vulgaris L.

Family

Labiatae (South Australia)
Lamiaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

allheal, blue curls, blue Lucy, brownwort, brunella, carpenters weed, carpenter-weed, carpenter's-weed, common self heal, common selfheal, dragonhead, heal all, heal-all, healall, heart of the earth, Hercules woundwart, hook-heal, hookweed, prunella, self heal, self-heal, selfheal, sicklewort, slough-heal, thimble-flower, thimbleweed, wild sage

Origin

The exact native range of this species is obscure, but it is thought to be native to north-western Africa (i.e. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, Europe, western and northern Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and China), eastern Asia (i.e. Japan, Korea and Taiwan), the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan) and North America (i.e. Alaska, Canada and the USA).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern ans eastern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern Queensland, eastern and southern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia, and the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia). Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island.

Notes

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) has escaped cultivaiton as a garden plant (i.e. ornamental), and has become naturalised in riparian areas, pastures, open woodlands, disturbed sites, waste areas and along roadsides. It is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and Western Australia.