White Horehound

Also known as Common Horehound, Houndsbane

Dense white wool coats the square stems and wrinkled leaves of white horehound, reflecting harsh sunlight and slowing water loss across arid landscapes. Clusters of tiny white flowers ring the leaf axils throughout summer, maturing into stiff, hooked burrs that hitch rides on passing animals to disperse seeds. Naturalized widely beyond its native Mediterranean scrub, it readily establishes in overgrazed pastures where livestock avoid its intensely bitter marrubiin content.