''Stachys arvensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the

mint family The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, ...

known by the common names field woundwort and staggerweed. It is native to Europe,

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

, and North Africa. It is known on other continents as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

and widespread

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas, and often in moist spots. It is an annual herb producing a branching stem up to about in maximum height. The stem is squared in cross-section and it is covered in rough hairs. The oppositely arranged leaves have hairy, serrated or toothed blades up to long which are borne on short petioles. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is made up of interrupted clusters of flowers borne in the axils of the leaf pairs. Each cluster has up to 6 flowers with pinkish corollas in hairy purple-tinged calyces of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

Uses

As its common name 'field woundwort' suggests, this herb has been used since Roman times in healing wounds, and its seeds, scattered by Roman soldiers, mark the lines of Roman roads.Carlton Reid (2014). "Roads Were Not Built for Cars". Island Press. p. 39 Its close relatives

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 ...

and marsh woundwort are also used to treat wounds.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
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Washington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
arvensis Flora of Western Asia Flora of North Africa Flora of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Lamiaceae-stub