I found this today while at the beach. Thought it might be lavender as it smelled like lavender. My plant app told me it was marsh woundwort aka clowns woundwort. Anyone have any idea what it might be for sure?
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Ok! Thank you! It does have some great healing qualities from what I’ve read so I’m going to dry it out and see what I can do with it.
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@henry are you at all familiar with this?
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Hi Mystique, No, I am not familiar with Marsh Woundwort specifically, as it is an European or mostly Eastern N American plant. Here in the NW we have Hedge Nettle, which is also a Stachys species, Stachys rigida. Its healing properties and preparation are also similar. It can be made into teas, tinctures, poultices and salves, and is good for internal and external inflammations, UTI’s and sprains and joint inflammations. You can also chew the fresh roots for sore throats. It is an astringent, hemostatic and antiinflammatory. It can be tinctured fresh or dry; fresh being at 1:2 ratio with as strong alcohol as you can find (I use Everclear, which is 95%) and dry herb at 1:5, with 50% alcohol. I’m kind of lazy, so I just make up lesser percentages by mixing the Everclear with distilled water, so they are actually slightly lesser percentages, so 50% would be equal volumes of 95% etoh and distilled water, which is probably 48% or some such. Also, here in the NW, we use other plants for similar problems, such as Figwort, Yarrow and Selfheal. Hope this helps.
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Henry,
@Mystique thank you for asking, cause I see Marsh Woundwort all the time and I don’t have a reliable app that is for free to check the plants. I thought of using google lens isn’t that just as good?
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So I wonder if maybe it’s not marsh woundwort as I live in Minnesota? It’s not prickly at all like a nettle plant usually is. Any thoughts on what else it could be. It smelled like lavender that’s why I grabbed it. But my PlantIn app said marsh woundwort. Could it have migrated up this far? I was at a lake where lots of people from other states visit. There is a big resort on the lake.
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Never tried google lens. I use PlantIn. It keeps telling me I need to subscribe but let’s me use it anyhow.
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Lookalikes can be deadly - you’re very smart to double and triple check!
I’d say it’s definitely not lavender (looking at the leaves), but as for what it is, I’m not sure. The flowers are lovely, though, and they sound fragrant - so if you can’t identify it 100%, it could perhaps make a nice bouquet 
Nice find, Mystique! 
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I believe it is Marsh Woundwort, Stachys palustris. When you first messaged me, I downloaded your picture, blew it up and checked it on “Picture This” (a great app!). It identified it. I then checked several websites for the range. It was reported as far West as Nevada and Idaho. It looked a lot like Hedgenettle, so I checked that and it is a different species in the same genus and has extremely similar properties. Their ranges do overlap, but they are basically variations of the almost the same plant. I think you’re probably ok but, recheck the books and websites yourself, if you have any doubts. It is always good to verify.
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Thank you so much for your help!
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Hi, not free but pretty minimal cost if you would use it often: “Picture This”. You are hiking along and see a plant you don’t know what it is. Open the app, it has its own camera. Take a picture of the plant, and in under 20 seconds it identifies the plant and has text about the plant. I’ve tried it on wild plants, weird ornamentals from other countries, plants just germinating in Spring and plants already dying in the Autumn. It has never failed to give me an answer. Can’t remember the charge but it is something like $20/year…Try it. Be well.
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You are most welcome. Be well.
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Have any of you tried the iNaturalist app? It will identify plants, animals, birds, etc. It is free.
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@Mystique
Yeah, I just get tired of spending money. It’s crazy how much everything cost. I think my husband has an app though and I think maybe if I share his app with me then I could get it for free or something like that
Jeannie
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I have never heard of that app! Thank you for sharing! I will definitely check it out!
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