Horehound

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is a coarse, wrinkled-leaved perennial in the mint family, best remembered today for the old-fashioned bitter-sweet hard candy that carries its name. Its flavor is distinctly bitter with a faint menthol quality, historically valued as a soothing remedy for coughs.

Growing Horehound

Horehound is exceptionally tough, tolerating poor, dry soil and neglect with ease — in fact, it can self-seed enough to be borderline weedy in favorable conditions, so keep an eye on volunteer seedlings if you'd rather it stay contained. Its fuzzy, gray-green, crinkled leaves have a rough, textural appeal even if the plant itself is more workhorse than showpiece.

Traditional Uses

Horehound leaves, steeped and combined with sugar, have long been made into a bittersweet cough drop or hard candy, a folk remedy that remains a nostalgic novelty candy today. The leaves can also be steeped into a bitter tea, though its strong, medicinal flavor is an acquired taste even by herbal-tea standards.