About Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

Motherwort is an easy-to-grow medicinal herb with a long history in European and Asian herbal traditions. This hardy perennial from the mint family produces soft, deeply lobed leaves and pinkish flowers that bees absolutely love. In warm temperate and cool climates, it is reliable, tough, and very low-maintenance — a great choice for herbalists, cottage gardens, and medicinal plant collections.

Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses

Motherwort has been valued for centuries for its calming, heart-supporting, and uterine-tonic properties.

Traditional Western Use: 

Used by midwives as a uterine tonic

Supportive in prevention of postpartum infections

Used to promote uterine stimulation

Taken for anxiety, palpitations, and heart tension

Traditionally used for overactive thyroid, restlessness, and nervous exhaustion

Chinese Herbal Medicine:

In Chinese medicine, motherwort is considered bitter, spicy, and slightly cold, and enters the pericardium and liver meridians. It is used to:

Invigorate blood circulation

Regulate menstruation

Support postpartum recovery

Growing Motherwort in Australia

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is easy to grow and well-suited to Port Stephens, NSW, and other warm temperate or cool regions like the Blue Mountains.

Soil:

Prefers well-drained soil

Grows well in average garden soil enriched with compost

Tolerates clay-loam if drainage is adequate

Light Requirements:

Best in full sun to part shade

Afternoon shade is helpful in very hot coastal climates

Watering:

Moderate water needs

Drought-tolerant once established, but grows lusher with regular moisture

Frost Hardiness:

Fully frost-hardy

In warm, frost-free climates it is less likely to self-sow

Growth Habit:

Herbaceous perennial

Dies back in winter in cooler areas and regrows in spring

Can self-sow modestly in cooler climates

Benefits for the Garden

Excellent bee plant

Adds texture and height to herb borders

Suitable for medicinal gardens, cottage gardens, and food forests

Low maintenance and long-lived

Common Names

Lion’s Tail, Heartwort
Agripaume / Herbe battudo (French)
Agripalma, Melissa salvatica (Italian)
Aartgespan, Hartgespan (Dutch)
益母草 yì mǔ cǎo (Chinese)
Yakumos (Japanese)
Ikmoch’o (Korean)
Hjärtstilla / Bonässla (Swedish)
Løvehale (Norwegian, Danish)
Nukula (Finnish)
Echtes Herzgespann / Echtes Löwenschwanz (German)
Sercdecznik pospolity (Polish)
Agripalma, Marihuanilla (Spanish)