self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
native, weed
picture taken in june
self-heal is also called heal-all! called such because of its historical use as an herbal remedy for a very wide variety of things. this plant is purportedly native to... almost everywhere; africa, asia, europe, and north america. not south america, though, for some reason. weird! everywhere it grows it's been used as a remedy for something.
this is in the mint family and, like most mints, it loves to spread. it has square stems and grows low to the ground, sending down roots from its creeping stems. its cylindrical flower stalks can get pretty tall, but it doesn't mind if you mow them down in a lawn; it just keeps on truckin.
unlike a lot of weeds, selfheal apparently almost exclusively serves as a lawn weed or pioneer plant, with a specific preference for bare ground rather than any particular type of soil. it likes to be left alone. though it's fine with mowing, it "does not tolerate cultivation or intense crop management" according to weeds of the northeast. i'm not entirely sure what that means, but seems to mesh with "likes to be left alone."
selfheal looks very similar to bugleweed, but they can be distinguished by their leaf shapes - selfheal has longer pointed leaves and bugleweed has smaller rounded leaves.
the flowers are pretty, but very small! they're supposed to be darker purple than the ones pictured, i think, but i think a plant that lives almost everywhere on the planet is likely to have some variety in terms of color manifestation. their bloom time depends on the climate, so it varies a bit but is generally summertime, june through august.