lamb's-ear (woolly hedgenettle)
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, 30-80 cm tall, branched above, 4-angled, softly long-hairy.
Leaves:
Opposite, narrowly egg-shaped to oblong, 5-10 cm long, rounded to more or less heart-shaped at the base, toothed, the upper ones unstalked, the lower ones stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a sometimes interrupted, bracted spike; bracts reddish-purple, as long as the calyces; corollas deeply 2-lipped, dark purplish-blue, 9-12 mm long; calyces egg-shaped to tubular, 6-8 mm long, long-hairy, the upper lip minutely 3-toothed, shorter than the lanceolate teeth of the lower lip.
Fruits:
Nutlets, 4 clustered together.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Waste places in the lowland zone; rare garden escape on S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Stachys lanata
Stachys olympica Poir.
Taxonomic Keys
KEY TO STACHYS
1. Plants annuals......................................................................S. arvensis 1. Plants perennials. 2. Plants densely covered with soft, white hairs...........................S. byzantina 2. Plants not white-hairy. 3. Leaves unstalked, at least those of upper half of stem.............. S. palustris 3. Leaves all stalked. 4. Plants 70-150 cm tall; corollas deep red-purple; tubes 15-23 mm long.......................S. chamissonis 4. Plants 30-80 cm tall; corollas pale pink to pink-purple, tubes 8-13 mm long....................S. mexicana Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |