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Greyhound is a bitter herb in the mint family, used in food and medicine. It grows well in poor soil and is a good border plant. Its small white flowers bloom from June to September and can be used fresh or dried.
An herb is a plant whose leaves, seeds, or flowers are used to flavor food or in medicine. Other uses of herbs include cosmetics, dyes and perfumes. The name comes from the Latin word herba, which means “green crops”. Greyhound, Marrubium vulgare, is a perennial herb in the mint family. It is known as “white greyhound” to distinguish it from another herb called black greyhound which is mainly involved in medical use.
History. There are several explanations of the name horehound. One explanation is that it comes from an Old English word for a drab plant, horhune, and was influenced by the word hound. Another explanation is that the name horehound may come from having been an ancient antidote for the bite of a rabid dog, hore coming from brina, meaning “old” or “grey.” The Latin name, Marrubium vulgare, may derive from the Hebrew word marrob, meaning “bitter juice,” possibly indicating that greyhound was one of the bitter herbs that the Jewish people ate at Passover.
Description. Native to most of the British Isles and most of Northern Europe, the greyhound is naturalized in the United States. Greyhound grows to about 1.2m tall, making it a good border plant. The small white flowers bloom from June to September, but may not flower until the second year.
Gardening. The greyhound is one of those plants that thrives in poor soil: dry and sandy soils do the trick. It is considered a good border plant. Leaves and flowers should be harvested at the height of flowering and can be used fresh or dried. Sometimes, the stems are included in recipes and these can also be used fresh or dried.
Food and other uses. Because greyhound is so bitter, its inclusion in food or medicinal preparations is usually offset by a large amount of sugar and/or other sweeteners. It is used in the preparation of candies, cough drops and cough syrups, as well as in juice and herbal tea. The herbal tea can be prepared with fresh or dried greyhound.
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