Geograph - photograph every grid square

This plant is a member of the mint family and native to Europe, Asia, and almost all of Canada. It grows in a variety of wet habitats including the edges of ponds, rivers and canals and in marshes, fens and wet woodlands. It is pollinated by long-tongued bees and the only food plant of the Skullcap leaf beetle (Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata). The plant is also known for its use as a medicinal herb, mainlyfor its traditional use as mild anxiolytics in the form of herbal teas, tablets, capsules, tobacco made from dried leaves and oral liquid preparations, often in combination with other medicinal herbs. Native Americans are documented to have used an extract made from the flowers as a nerve tonic and for its sedative and diuretic properties.The plant is also known as marsh skullcap and hooded skullcap. For a wider view of this location see > Link.