Kubanets is a perennial aromatic plant that simultaneously serves as a decorative element and a valuable medicinal material. The vegetation period is about 87 days, and the plant height is usually in the range from 65 to 75 cm (in some cases it can reach 100 cm). Kubanets leaves are opposite, petiolate, and oblong; upper leaves are sessile and entire, grayish-green from below with pubescence, young leaves – white-felted. Flowers have a pink-purple hue and are gathered in a terminal inflorescence, which appears in June–July for about a month, and flowering occurs already in the second year of growth.
The plant prefers sunny places and open ground. It is light-loving, drought-resistant, and heat-loving, but does not tolerate spring frosts, so it must be covered during the cold period. For growing Kubanets, direct sowing in the ground or seedling method is used – sowing is carried out in winter or early spring, and planting – at the end of May. The feeding area of plants is usually 20×40 cm.
Kubanets is widely used in both the medical, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Leaves and inflorescences have antispasmodic and antiseptic effects; they are used for gargling with angina and other throat diseases. The yield of air-dried leaves reaches 1 kg/m², and seeds – about 0.3 kg/m². Due to aromatic properties, Kubanets leaves are also used in preparing spicy mixtures and for seasoning dishes.
