Marrubium vulgare


Famous for making old-fashioned Horehound candy, Horehound is a medicinal herb used primarily to break up mucus and phlegm, treat coughs, and sore throats. As an ornamental herb, its attractive, fuzzy gray foliage can also be used as a bouquet filler.

Horehound tends to thrive in dry, poor soil, so this makes a great herb to dress areas up that may have inadequate conditions. If after a year your Horehound doesn't flower, don't be alarmed. It usually takes this hardy little perennial two years to get full established and start producing tiny purple blooms. A member of the Mint family, it has distinct, wrinkled leaves and a tough fibrous root system.


This medicinal herb is still used as a soothing lozenge and cough syrup for chest congestion and sore throats. Though not cleared for this medical purpose in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, Horehound can still be found on shelves as an herbal supplement and in some cough drops and candies, and remains a very popular treatment in Europe.

If you like growing Horehound for its medicinal benefits, read our blog on making a homemade tea to soothe your symptoms when you feel a cold coming on. Horehound is a wonderful cough suppressant and expectorant, making it ideal for helping to treat respiratory infections. When mixed with mint and brewed into tea, it offers a relaxing alternative to over the counter cough medicine.