Nearctica - Eastern Wildflowers - Lamiaceae - Woundwort (Stachys palustris)

Woundwort

(Stachys palustris)

Color Photograph: Midwestern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Midwest National Technical Center.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Stachys tenuifolia

Hedge Nettle might be mistaken for Hedge Nettle. The petioles of the lower leaves of Hedge Nettle are longer than those of Woundwort. The upper petal lobe of Hedge Nettle is hairy, not just pubescent.

Woundwort (Stachys palustris)

Identification: Flowers pink to magenta. Bottom petal lobe broadly ovate, spotted with purple. Top petal lobe pubescent, but not hairy. Calyx fuzzy, soft appearing, either green or pale red. Flowers arrange in loose whorls in the leaf axils. Stem square, fuzzy. Leaves hairy, elongate-ovate, outer margin heavily toothed. Petioles short or absent. Plant 2 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Southeastern Canada and southward into the eastern United States to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

Habitat: Woundwort occurs on wet ground such as river and lake banks, ditches, and wet meadows.

Flowering period: July to September.

Woundwort (Stachys palustris)

Similar Species:

Woundwort is usually identifiable because of its short, fuzzy appearance, particular the flower calyx.

Hedge Nettle (Stachys tenuifolia)

Similar Species