Chinese motherwort is an Asian herb in the mint family and one of the 50 fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine. On the US mainland it's a rare introduced weed of roadsides and barnyards, though it's naturalized throughout Hawaii. It has square stems and whorls of pink to lavender flowers where the leaves meet the stem.
Appearance
- Growth form
- An upright annual or biennial with a taproot, usually 20–40 in (50–100 cm) tall. Big plants can pass 3 ft (1 m) and reach about 5 ft (1.5 m).
- Leaves
- Lower leaves are broad and deeply cut into 3 lobes with narrow, strap-like segments. Leaves higher up have fewer lobes, and the top ones are narrow and unlobed.
- Flowers
- Two-lipped flowers about ½ in (10–14 mm) long, pale pink to lavender, sometimes white. The lower lip is often spotted reddish purple.
- Flowering time
- July–August in Missouri.
Look-alikes
Common motherwortLeonurus cardiaca
Common motherwort's stem leaves are shallowly split into about 5 broad lobes. Chinese motherwort's leaves are deeply cut into 3 narrow lobes, and its top leaves are narrow and unlobed.
Why they get mixed upBoth are weedy motherworts with square stems and whorls of pinkish flowers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- roadsides
- barnyards
- disturbed ground
- dry pastures
- Range
- Native to East and Southeast Asia, including Korea, Japan, and China. On the US mainland it is rare and turns up only in scattered spots. In Hawaii it's naturalized on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in disturbed, open places. In Hawaii it favors fairly dry areas, especially pastures.
- Flowering
Flowers Jul–Aug
Flowers Jul–Aug
Name and classification
- About the name
- It's also called honeyweed. Older books and herbal products may call it Leonurus heterophyllus or L. artemisia, and some recent botanical lists move it to a new genus as Paraleonurus japonicus. The name Siberian motherwort (L. sibiricus) has often been misapplied to this plant, but true L. sibiricus is a different species.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.