''Stachys'' is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae.Harley, R. M., et al. 2004. "Labiatae". pages 167–275. In: Kubitzki, K. (editor) and J. W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume VII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany. Estimates of the number of

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

vary from about 300, to about 450.Mabberley, D. J. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. ''Stachys'' is in the subfamily

Lamioideae Lamioideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Lamiaceae. Genera include: *'' Acanthoprasium'' *'' Achyrospermum'' *'' Acrotome'' *'' Ajugoides'' *'' Anisomeles'' *'' Ballota'' *'' Betonica'' *'' Brazoria'' *'' Chaiturus'' *'' Chamaesphacos ...

and its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is '' Stachys sylvatica''.''Stachys'' In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In:

Regnum Vegetabile The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is an organization established to promote an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitate international communication of research between botanists, and oversee matters of uniformity and ...

(see ''External links'' below). The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.

Range and naming

The

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

of the genus covers

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

and North America. Common names include hedgenettle, heal-all, self-heal, woundwort, betony, and lamb's ears. Wood betony, ''S. officinalis'', was the most important

medicinal herb Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

to the Anglo-Saxons of early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

England. ''Stachys'' was named by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in '' Species Plantarum'' in 1753.Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. ''Species Plantarum'' 2:580. Laurentii Salvii. (see ''External Links'' below). The name is

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

from the Greek word σταχυς (''stachys''), meaning "an ear of grain",Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, USA. London, UK. (set). (see ''External links'' below). and refers to the fact that the

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is often a

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

. The name woundwort derives from the past use of certain species in herbal medicine for the treatment of wounds.

Human uses

The

Chinese artichoke ''Stachys affinis'', commonly called crosne, Chinese artichoke, Japanese artichoke, knotroot, or artichoke betony, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Lamiaceae, originating from China. Its rhizome is a root vegetable that can be e ...

or Crosne ('' S. affinis''), is grown for its edible

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

. Several species are cultivated as

ornamentals Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. Woolly betony ('' S. byzantina'') is a popular decorative garden plant.

Use by other species

''Stachys'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species, including the

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s '' Coleophora auricella'', '' C. lineolea'', and '' C. wockeella'', all recorded on ''S. officinalis''. They are also widely used by the

European wool carder bee ''Anthidium manicatum'', commonly called the European wool carder bee is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter bees or mason bees. They get the name " carder" from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb' ...

(''Anthidium manicatum''), which scrape the hairs from the plant in order to use them for building their nests.

Description

''Stachys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of shrubs and

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herbs. The stems vary from tall, with

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnn ...

, opposite,

triangular A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...

leaves, long with

serrate Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...

margins. In most species, the leaves are softly hairy. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are long, clustered in the axils of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. The corolla is 5-lobed with the top lobe forming a 'hood', varying from white to pink, purple, red or pale yellow.

Circumscription

The distinction between ''Stachys'' and other genera is unclear and has varied from one author to another. In 2002, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that '' Stachys officinalis'' is not closely related to the rest of the genus.Lindqvist, C. and V. A. Albert. 2002
Origin of the Hawaiian endemic mints within North American ''Stachys'' (Lamiaceae).
''American Journal of Botany'' 89(10), 1709–24. This study also found six other genera to be embedded within ''Stachys'' as it is currently

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

. The embedded genera are ''Prasium'', ''Phlomidoschema'', '' Sideritis'', ''Haplostachys'', ''

Phyllostegia ''Phyllostegia'' is a genus of flowering plant in the Mentha, mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1840. It is native to certain islands in the Pacific Islands, Pacific (Hawaii, Tonga and the Society Islands, although it appears to be extin ...

'', and ''Stenogyne''.

Fossil record

†'' Stachys pliocenica'' fossil seeds are known from Upper

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

strata of Bulgaria and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Stachys cretica''.

Diversity

Selected species include: Stachys tenuifolia var

Stachys alpina fontaine-des-carmes 55 080602 1

*'' Stachys affinis'' Bunge – Chinese artichoke *'' Stachys ajugoides''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

– bugle hedgenettle *'' Stachys alabamica'' B.R.Keener & L.J.Davenp. – Alabama hedgenettle *'' Stachys albens''

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

– white hedgenettle, whitestem hedgenettle *'' Stachys albicaulis'' Lindl. *'' Stachys alpina'' L. – alpine woundwort *'' Stachys annua'' (L.) L. – annual woundwort *'' Stachys arvensis'' L. – staggerweed, field woundwort Stachys byzantina flowers

*''

Stachys bullata ''Stachys bullata'' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name California hedgenettle. Distribution It is endemic to California, where it is known from the Central Coast Ranges, the Transverse Ranges, and other ...

'' Benth. *'' Stachys byzantina'' K.Koch – woolly betony, lamb's ear *'' Stachys candida'' Bory & Chaub. *'' Stachys chamissonis'' Benth. – great hedge nettle, coastal hedge nettle *''Stachys chamissonis'' var. ''cooleyae'' (A.Heller) G.A.Mulligan & D.B.Munro – Cooley's hedge nettle *'' Stachys chrysantha'' Boiss. & Heldr. *'' Stachys citrina'' Benth. *'' Stachys clingmanii'' Small – Clingman's hedge nettle *''

Stachys coccinea ''Stachys coccinea'', the scarlet hedgenettle or Texas betony, is an ornamental plant of the family Lamiaceae, which is native from Arizona to Texas and from Baja California Sur, Mexico to Nicaragua. Some cultivar A cultivar is a type of c ...

'' Ortega

*'' Stachys corsica'' Pers. *'' Stachys cretica'' L. *'' Stachys debilis'' Kunth *'' Stachys ehrenbergii'' Boiss. *'' Stachys floridana'' Benth. – Florida hedgenettle, Florida betony *'' Stachys germanica'' L. – downy woundwort *'' Stachys glutinosa'' L. *'' Stachys hispida'' Pursh – rough hedge-nettle *'' Stachys hyssopifolia'' Michx. *''

Stachys iva ''Stachys'' is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae.Harley, R. M., et al. 2004. "Labiatae". pages 167–275. In: Kubitzki, K. (editor) and J. W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants ...

'' Griseb. *'' Stachys lavandulifolia'' Vahl *'' Stachys libanotica'' Benth. *'' Stachys manantlanensis'' B.L.Turner *'' Stachys mexicana'' Benth. – Mexican hedge nettle *'' Stachys milanii'' Magnier Stachys palustris 2005

*'' Stachys nelsonii'' B.R.Keener & L.J.Davenp. – Nelson's hedgenettle *''

Stachys palustris ''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:Roya ...

'' L. – marsh woundwort, marsh hedge-nettle *'' Stachys pumila'' Banks & Sol. *'' Stachys pycnantha'' Benth. *''

Stachys recta ''Stachys recta'', commonly known as stiff hedgenettle or perennial yellow-woundwort, is herbaceous perennial plant of the family Lamiaceae. Etymology The generic epithet is derived from the Greek word σταχυς (''stachys''), meaning "an ear ...

'' L. – yellow woundwort *'' Stachys riederi'' Cham. *'' Stachys rigida'' Benth. – rough hedgenettle Stachys sylvatica - mets-nõianõges

*'' Stachys sprucei'' Briq. *'' Stachys stricta'' Greene *'' Stachys sylvatica'' L. – hedge woundwort *'' Stachys tenuifolia'' Willd. – smooth hedgenettle

Formerly placed here

*''

Agastache foeniculum ''Agastache foeniculum'' (blue giant hyssop; syn. ''Agastache anethiodora'' (Nutt.) Britton), commonly called anise hyssop, blue giant hyssop, Fragrant giant hyssop, or the lavender giant hyssop, is a species of perennial plant in the mint fam ...

'' (Pursh) Kuntze (as ''S. foeniculum'' Pursh) *''

Leonurus japonicus ''Leonurus japonicus'', commonly called oriental motherwort or Chinese motherwort, is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Asia, including Korea and Japan, and China to Cambodia. Description Plants are annual or biennial, growing from taproots ...

'' Houtt. (as ''S. artemisia'' Lour.) *'' Stachys monieri'' (Gouan) P.W.Ball, now in the synonymy of '' Betonica officinalis'' *'' Betonica macrantha'' K.Koch (as ''S. macrantha'' (K.Koch) Stearn) *'' Betonica officinalis'' L. (as ''S. officinalis'' (L.) Trevis.)

References

Stachys ''Stachys'' is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae.Harley, R. M., et al. 2004. "Labiatae". pages 167–275. In: Kubitzki, K. (editor) and J. W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants ...

Lamiaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus