''Stachys recta'', commonly known as stiff hedgenettle or perennial yellow-woundwort, is

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

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 wide ...

plant of the family Lamiaceae.

Etymology

The generic

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 ...

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 Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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 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 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 specific epithet comes from the Latin ''recta'', meaning "straight", also refers to the shape of the inflorescence.

Description

The biological form of ''S. recta'' is hemicryptophyte

scapose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

, as its overwintering buds are situated just below the soil surface and the

floral axis The floral axis (sometimes referred to as the receptacle) is the area of the flower upon which the reproductive organs and other ancillary organs are attached. It is also the point at the center of a floral diagram. Many flowers in division Angios ...

is more or less erect with a few leaves. The plant reaches on average in height.Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. III, pag. 467 It has thick, woody roots. The stems are strong, simple or branched, with slightly rough glandular hairs. The leaves are ovate-spatulate to oblong-lanceolate, with toothed edges and a long petiole. The length of the leaves is and the width 0.5 to 2 cm. . The flowers are gathered in a dense terminal spike and are usually yellowish-white, stained by purple or brown spots. The calyx is long. The flowering period extends from July through October. The flowers are

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

and

pollinated by insects Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

. The fruit are

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

sabout 2 mm long, rounded, chestnut-brown and smooth or very finely punctured. This plant is strictly related to '' S. officinalis,'' and has similar properties and characteristics.

Distribution

This plant is a sub-Mediterranean floral element and it is widespread from Europe to the Caucasus and Asia Minor.

Habitat

''Stachys recta'' grows in lawns, in semi-dry and dry grasslands and in rocky hillsides. It prefers calcareous and moderately dry soil, at an altitude of above sea level.

Gallery

File:Stachys recta Sturm48.jpg, Figure of ''S. recta'' from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen, 1796. File:Stachys recta001.jpg, Plant of ''S. recta.'' File:Stachys recta.jpg, Flowers of ''S. recta.'' File:Lamiaceae - Stachys recta-1.JPG, Leaf of ''S. recta''

Subspecies

* ''Stachys recta'' L. subsp. ''labiosa'' (Bertol.) Briq. * ''Stachys recta'' L. subsp. ''recta.'' * ''Stachys recta'' L. subsp. subcrenata'' (Vis.) Briq. * ''Stachys recta'' L. subsp. tenoreana'' Bornm.

References

External links

Biolib

Stachys recta

Stachys recta
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163769 recta Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus