Stachys albens

Common Name: MINT FAMILY
Habit: Annual to shrub [tree, vine], glabrous to hairy, generally aromatic. Stem: generally erect, generally 4-angled. Leaf: generally simple to deeply lobed, generally opposite, generally gland-dotted. Inflorescence: generally cymes, generally many in dense axillary clusters surrounding stem, generally separated by evident internodes or collectively crowded, spike- or panicle-like, occasionally head-like or raceme, subtended by leaves or bracts; flowers sessile or pedicelled. Flower: generally bisexual; calyx generally 5-lobed, radial to bilateral; corolla generally bilateral, 1--2-lipped, upper lip entire or 2-lobed, +- flat to hood-like, occasionally 0, lower lip generally 3-lobed; stamens generally 4, epipetalous, generally exserted, paired, pairs generally unequal, occasionally 2, staminodes 2 or 0; ovary superior, generally 4-lobed to base chambers 2, ovules 2 per chamber, style 1, generally arising from center at junction of lobes, stigmas generally 2. Fruit: generally 4 nutlets, generally ovoid to oblong, smooth.
Genera In Family: +- 230 genera, 7200 species: worldwide. Many cultivated for herbs, oils (Lavandula, lavender; Mentha, mint; Rosmarinus, rosemary; Thymus, thyme), some cultivated as ornamental (in California Cedronella, Leonotis, Monarda, Phlomis). Note: Moluccella laevis L., shell flower, historical waif in California. Satureja calamintha (L.) Scheele subsp. ascendens (Jordan) Briq. reported as alien but not naturalized. Salazaria moved to Scutellaria; California Hyptis moved to Condea, California Satureja moved to Clinopodium.
eFlora Treatment Author: Dieter H. Wilken & Margriet Wetherwax, family description, key to genera, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin.

Common Name: HEDGE-NETTLE
Habit: Perennial herb [annual], hairy, generally glandular; rhizome slender or 0. Stem: decumbent to erect, 0.1--2.5 m. Leaf: 1.5--18 cm, proximal generally petioled, distal +- sessile; blade oblong to ovate, serrate to crenate. Inflorescence: spike-like, generally terminal, interrupted or continuous, bracted. Flower: calyx bell-shaped, +- radial, veins 5--10, lobes 5, erect or spreading, triangular, tips sharp; corolla white, yellow, pink, red, magenta, or purple, tube narrow, with internal ring of hairs generally above base, perpendicular to oblique to tube axis, generally with short, pouched spur on the lower side of the tube, upper lip erect or generally parallel to tube axis, concave, entire (notched), generally hairy, lower lip perpendicular to tube axis or reflexed, 3(2)-lobed, glabrous to hairy. Fruit: oblong to ovoid, brown to black, smooth or irregularly, minutely roughened.
Etymology: (Greek: ear of corn, from inflorescence) Note: Stachys arvensis L., Stachys floridana Shuttlew. historical waifs.
eFlora Treatment Author: John B. Nelson
Reference: Mulligan & Munro 1989 Naturaliste Canad 116:35--51
Unabridged Reference: Epling 1934 Fedde Rep Sp Nov Regni Veg 80:1--75