''Lycopus europaeus'', common names gypsywort, gipsywort, bugleweed, European bugleweed and water horehound, is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in the genus '' Lycopus'', native to Europe and Asia, and naturalized elsewhere. Another species, ''

Lycopus americanus ''Lycopus americanus'', common names American water horehound or American bugleweed, is a member of the genus ''Lycopus ''Lycopus'' (water horehound, gypsywort, or bugleweed) is a genus in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants ...

'' has also been erroneously called ''L. europaeus''. Lycopus europaeus Prague 2012 3

Description

Gypsywort is a rather straggly perennial plant with slender underground runners and grows to a height of about . The stalkless or short-stalked leaves are in opposite pairs. The leaf blades are hairy, narrowly lanceolate-ovate, sometimes pinnately-lobed, and with large teeth on the margin. The inflorescence forms a terminal spike and is composed of dense whorls of white or pale pink flowers. The calyx has five lobes and the corolla forms a two-lipped flower about long with a fused tube. The upper lip of each flower is slightly convex with a notched tip and the lower lip is three-lobed, the central lobe being the largest and bearing a red "nectar mark" to attract pollinating insects. There are two stamens, the

gynoecium Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

has two fused carpels and the fruit is a four-chambered schizocarp. The flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized pollination syndrome.

Habitat

Gypsywort grows primarily in

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

areas. It grows along the borders of lakes, ponds and streams as well as in canals and marshes. Its carpels float which may aid dispersal of the plant and its

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

ous roots also allow the plant to spread. It is in flower from June to September, and produces seeds from August to October.

Etymology and folklore

It is reputed to have medicinal qualitiesPlants for a Future Database of Edible and Medicinal Plants
/ref>
/ref> and has been used by various peoples as a dye, astringent, cosmetic, douche and narcotic. Several research studies have been undertaken on the properties of this plant. Rembert Dodoens wrote of the names of the plant in the 1578 English translation of his original book published in 1563, as the fourth among the group of horehounds “…: in

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

water Andoren, and of some Egyptenaers cruyt, that is to say, the Egyptians herbe, bycause of the Rogues and runnegates which call themselves Egyptians, do colour themselves blacke with this herbe.” The Brabant original seems to suggest it was used by tramps/hobos who were pretending to be Romany people by darkening their skin. He also wrote that water horehound was not used in medicine. Through time it often came to be said that name gypsywort comes from the belief that Romani people would stain their skin with the juice of the plant, although Howard (1987) states that they used it to dye their linen.Howard, Michael. ''Traditional Folk Remedies'' (Century, 1987) p.151

References

External links

United States Dept. of Agriculture Plants DatabaseList of articles from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of HealthFlora of ChinaPlants for a Future Database of Edible and Medicinal Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158390

europaeus This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Lebanon Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus