Black Horehound
“Black horehound has hairy, oval or heart-shaped leaves, with toothed edges, that may turn black after the plant has flowered. The pinky-purple, ‘hooded’ flowers are arranged in whorls around the top of its stems”. Wildlife trusts
So why “Black”? This seems to have been applied to indicate that it was NOT “White Horehound” which looks quite similar out of flower with the same crinkly leaves of similar shape. This was the plant that was and still is used medicinally, but only for coughs and colds. Its use for dog bites was abandoned long ago.
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This is common in fields such as the Martello fields, and can also be spotted in the Crouch near one of the alleyways.
Common name : Black Horehound
Latin name : Ballota nigra
A member of the Dead nettle family (Lamiaceae)