Photo: Ghislain118 http://www.fleurs-des-montagnes.net, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Respiratory Sleep & Calm Digestive Health

✦ Free preview: full page unlocked

African Horehound

Ballota africana

Also known as Kattekruid, Cat's Herb, Wild Sage of the Cape, Cape Horehound

At a glance

Family

Lamiaceae (the mint family)

Type

Woody perennial shrub

Parts used

Leaves and flowering tops

Size

Roughly 60 cm to 1.2 m tall, forming a sprawling, softly hairy shrub

Bloom

Pale mauve to whitish flowers in whorls along the stem, chiefly late winter through spring

Habitat

Dry, rocky slopes, roadsides, and disturbed ground across the fynbos regions of the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa

Acquisition

Forage

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

✦

Traditionally eases coughs and colds

Traditionally calms frayed nerves

Traditionally settles an uneasy stomach

Traditionally supports restful sleep

Traditional uses

✦

Long before it had a Latin name, this grey-green, sweetly pungent shrub was a fixture of Cape Dutch and Khoi household medicine cabinets, brewed into a bitter tea for coughs, colds, and fevers. Afrikaans-speaking households called it kattekruid, cat's herb, and kept a bundle drying in the kitchen much the way other cultures kept chamomile close at hand. It was also traditionally taken to quiet the nerves, ease what old herbals called hysteria, and coax along a restless night's sleep, a use it shares with its European cousin, black horehound. Some traditional Cape remedies also turned to it for a queasy stomach, steeped alongside other bitter garden herbs.

Growing guide

✦

Sun

Full sun. This is a plant of open, exposed Cape hillsides and sulks in shade.

Soil

Lean, gritty, well-drained soil, it thrives in poor ground and resents rich, wet beds.

Water

Drought tolerant once established. Water sparingly, it is built for a dry Mediterranean-style climate.

Planting

Start from seed or half-ripe cuttings in spring, spacing plants about 60 cm apart to let air move through the foliage and stems.

Fresh to dried

✦

Harvest

Cut the leafy flowering tops on a dry morning, once the dew has lifted and the plant is in bloom, when its aromatic oils are strongest.

Drying

Tie stems into loose, small bundles and hang them upside down in a warm, shaded, airy spot until the leaves crumble easily, usually one to two weeks.

Storage

Store the dried leaf in an airtight jar, away from light and heat, and it will hold its character for about a year.

Best forms

Dried leaf for tea and infusions is the traditional and most practical form.

Traditional preparations

✦

Featured preparation

Kattekruid Calming Tea

The classic Cape household tea, traditionally taken in the evening to quiet a cough and settle restless nerves before bed.

How it's made. Steep 1 teaspoon of the dried leaf in 250 ml of just-boiled water for 10 minutes, then strain. Sip slowly, warm, in the evening.

Secondary preparation

Honeyed Horehound Infusion

A gentler, sweetened version of the same tea, traditionally offered for a scratchy throat or an unsettled stomach.

How it's made. Prepare the tea as above, then stir in a little honey to taste once it has cooled slightly.

Pairs well with

✦Honeybush
✦Buchu
✦Lemon balm

Substitutes

✦Black horehound (Ballota nigra)
✦Lemon balm

Choose it when

“When a cough won't quiet and the nerves feel just as ragged as the throat.”

Did you know?

Its Afrikaans name, kattekruid, means cat's herb, given by early Cape households who noticed cats rubbing against and rolling in the shrub much as they do with catnip, even though the two plants are not closely related.

Safety

African horehound has a traditional calming effect, so it may add to the effect of sedative medications. It is best avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding without professional guidance.