''Lycopus'' is a genus of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plants in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. The many species are known as water horehound, gypsywort, and bugleweed and are native to Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The species are most often found in wetlands, damp meadows, and stream banks. Some of the wetland species have become endangered.

Description

The genus includes only

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

species; they spread by both

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s and stems rooting as they grow along the ground. Small white flowers bloom in late summer on leaf axials. Leaves are bright green, pointed, lobed, and like all mints occur in opposite pairs. Some species start with curled purple leaves that unfurl to a bright green coloration. The species in this genus vary in size, but generally grow to about .

Taxonomy

Fossil record

Fossil seeds of †''Lycopus antiquus'' are known from the Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

of southern Russia, from the Miocene of

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusa ...

, Germany, and from the Late Miocene

of western

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and Ukraine. ''Lycopus antiquus'' has possibly been applied to more than one

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species which were widely distributed in Europe and

from the

to the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Lycopus alissoviae'' Prob. – Primorye region of Russia #'' Lycopus americanus'' Muhl. ex W.P.C.Barton – American bugleweed - widespread across most of United States and Canada #'' Lycopus amplectens'' Raf. – eastern United States #'' Lycopus angustifolius'' Elliott – southeastern United States #'' Lycopus asper'' Greene – rough bugleweed - western Canada, western + central United States #'' Lycopus australis'' R.Br. – Australian Gypsywort - Australia #'' Lycopus cavaleriei'' H.Lév. – Korean bugleweed - China, Japan, Korea, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands #'' Lycopus charkeviczii'' Prob. – Primorye region of Russia #'' Lycopus cokeri'' H.E.Ahles ex Sorrie – North Carolina, South Carolina #'' Lycopus europaeus'' L. – Gypsywort - Europe, North Africa, northern Asia; naturalized in New Zealand and North America #'' Lycopus exaltatus'' L.f. – central + eastern Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, Xinjiang, Caucasus, Western Himalayas #'' Lycopus hirtellus'' Kom. – Primorye region of Russia #'' Lycopus × intermedius'' Hausskn. – Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece ''(L. europaeus × L. exaltatus)'' #'' Lycopus kurilensis'' Prob. – Kuril Islands #'' Lycopus laurentianus'' Roll.-Germ. – Quebec #'' Lycopus lucidus'' Turcz. ex Benth. –

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

herb to make '' Lycopi rhizoma'' - China, Japan, Korea, Siberia, Russian Far East #'' Lycopus rubellus'' Moench – central + eastern United States #'' Lycopus × sherardii'' Steele – Quebec, Ontario, eastern United States #'' Lycopus sichotensis'' Prob. – Primorye region of Russia #'' Lycopus uniflorus'' Michx. – northern bugleweed - Canada, United States. China, Japan, Korea, Russian Far East #'' Lycopus virginicus'' L. – Virginia bugleweed/water-horehound - central + eastern United States

Uses

The plant's juice yields black

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

, supposedly used by the Roma in Europe to tan their skin to mimic Egyptians, hence the common name of ''Gypsywort'' for '' Lycopus europaeus.''

Apothecaries ''Apothecary'' () is an archaic English term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in British English, ''chemist'' have ...

and herbalists used the leaves, stems, and flowers for their

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

and sedative qualities as well as for anxiety,

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and palpitations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158341 Lamiaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus