Photographs: Crookhaven, Co. Cork

Black Horehound Ballota nigra Grafán dubh Family: Lamiaceae Flowering time: June-September. Perennial. Introduced. Whorls of 2-lipped red-purple flowers in leaf axils, the funnel-shaped calyx with fine-pointed teeth. Leaves are short-stalked, oval-cordate and coarse-toothed. An erect, more/less hairy plant that has a strong smell when bruised. Height to 1m. Very occasional and decreasing on disturbed, nutrient-rich waste ground, field edges and in hedgerows, often near habitation.

Black Horehound, Ballota nigra, Grafán dubh