''Stachys palustris'', commonly known as marsh woundwort, clown's woundwort, clown's heal-all, marsh hedgenettle, or hedge-nettle,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 298. is an edible perennial grassland

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

growing to 80 centimeters tall. It is native to parts of Eurasia but has been introduced to North America. The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''palustris'' is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.

Description

Marsh woundwort is a perennial plant growing from a horizontal tuberous runner. It has square stems with opposite pairs of leaves that are almost stalkless, linearly lanceolate, slightly

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning 'heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape), in plants * Cordate axe, a prehistoric stone tool See also * Chordate A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordat ...

at the base and toothed. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

has five sharply-pointed lobes. The purplish-red flowers are in terminal spikes, with gaps in the lower part of the spike. They are arranged in whorls, each flower consisting of five fused petals, the

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

being two-lipped, the upper lip being gently hooded and the lower lip flat and three-lobed. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees. There are four

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, two long and two short and the fruit is a dry four-chambered schizocarp.Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. (1996) ''An Irish Flora.'' Dundalgan Press (W.Tempest) Ltd.

Distribution and habitat

The marsh woundwort is native to Europe and Asia. Its typical habitat is near the shore of lakes, in marshes with alder trees, on the banks of ditches and streams, in damp meadows, in arable ground and in waste places. In arable land, it is a difficult weed to get rid of because of its persistent tubers.

Ecology

Although the marsh woundwort has little fragrance, it is very attractive to bumblebees. Nectar indicators guide the insect to probe into the centre of the flower and the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s of the stamens and the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

s are correctly located for the insect to transfer

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

between flowers. The seeds of this plant disperse well, the dry fruit capsules float away and this probably why the plant is frequently found on the banks of lakes and other bodies of water. It also spreads vegetatively by means of hollow tuberous root which can throw up shoots far from the original plant.

Uses

As their common names suggest, along with its close relatives field woundwort and

hedge woundwort ''Stachys sylvatica'', commonly known as hedge woundwort, whitespot, or sometimes as hedge nettle, is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to tall in woodland and unmanaged grassland. In temperate zones of the northern hemisphere it flowers in ...

it is used to promote the healing of wounds. Wort is a middle English word for a herb or vegetable.

References

External links

Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia & Neighboring Countries
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158392 palustris Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus